


Nobody Knows

by eyesonpeach



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Child Abuse, Disappearance, Domestic Violence, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, I'll add more tags as the story continues, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Mild Blood, Multi, Physical Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Violence, dotae are detectives, norenmin are rich kids, norenmin go missing, the story is a little dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-09-19 13:10:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 30,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17002290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyesonpeach/pseuds/eyesonpeach
Summary: Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin go missing out of nowhere.It's Taeyong and Doyoung's job to find out what happened and bring those three boys home.read tags before reading pls





	1. Chapter 1

Lee Taeyong looked up from his files to lock eyes with his boss, Moon Taeil, who was giving him extra details about his new case. Apparently, three boys went missing two days ago. Once school finished, they never came back home.

"What are we looking at here? Kidnapping? Runaways?" he asked, skimming through the boys' files, expecting to find answers in there.

"That's your job to find out. There are interrogations scheduled with the parents in a couple hours. I've paired you up with Doyoung for this case, so go over the details with him before. And... be nice"

He waited after Taeil was gone to roll his eyes and sigh deeply. Doyoung was a nightmare to work with, but he had a job to do.

He found the devil in the cafeteria drinking dark coffee. _Dark like his soul_ Taeyong thought.

"Hello there, partner" Doyoung's smile was unsettling, just like his eyes watching his every move.

They went through everything they knew about the case. It started Tuesday, the three boys had gone to school like any other day, but never got home once school ended.

"Jeno and Jaemin had basketball practice that day after school, but never appeared" Taeyong voiced out while looking at the the boys' schedule.

"Same with Renjun, he had violin classes, but he didn't attend" Doyoung took another sip from his second coffee, burying his fingers in his black hair "We can assume they went missing around 3-4pm"

A police officer came in and told them that Jeno's parents were waiting for them in the interrogation room. They grabbed all their stuff and went on their way.

When they were outside the room, Taeyong held the door open so Doyoung could walk in first. He closed the door when he was inside. He was taken aback when he looked at the couple in front of him. They had this desinterested aura that threw him off, Mr. Lee wouldn't stop looking at his expensive watch like he was waisting his time being in there. _Rich people_.

"We're here to ask some questions about your son's disappearance"

"He'll probably be back before we know it" Mrs. Kim brushed it off "I really don't think it's serious enough to get the police involved. Jeno probably just wants attention, so he and his little friends decided it was funny and run away. My stepson does that a lot"

"Hyoyeon!" Mr. Lee looked at his wife with anger "Jeno wouldn't do this"

"Oh, so we're supposed to forget he did something similar last year and almost gave us a heart attack. Fine. So be it" the blonde woman crossed both her legs and arms, irritated.

"What exactly happened last year?" Doyoung intervened, looking to calm them down and get as much information as possible.

After a sigh, Mr. Lee stopped playing with his watch to look directly at the two detectives in front of him.

"Last year, during Christmas, Jeno disappeared. We never involved the police because he was just at a friends house without letting us know" he fixed his suit nervously "But this feels different"

"Different how?" his wife asked "Do you really think it's a coincidence that Jaemin and Renjun are also missing? Please! The three of them took off somewhere, expecting to be found just to get attention"

"I think we need to calm down" Taeyong said after he saw Jeno's father about to explode from anger. "If they did runaway, we still need to find them. They're teenagers that are alone without anyone to protect them, there are so many dangerous things out there"

There was silence in the room, so Doyoung took it upon himself to start the interrogation again, asking about a small detail that could actually help them a lot: "What was the name of the Jeno's friend? The one he went to his house last year" 

"I don't know, some Chinese guy named Lucas. I don't have much information on him" the rich guy answered, sitting back on the chair.

After a few more routine questions, they let the couple go, waiting for the next pair of parents.

"If they did run away, I don't really blame them" Doyoung said, grabbing another coffee from the machine. "Did you see how that woman just brushed everything off? Preposterous!"

"That just makes me not want to have kids at all" Taeyong grabbed the latte Doyoung handed him and took a fast sip.

"That's what you say now" the black-haired detective flicked him on the forehead. "Let's go, we still have to handle four more parents".

Taeyong just laughed as he saw Doyoung walk away, ready to follow him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! If you're still here thank you! I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, my first language isn't english so you can point out those mistakes (please do! I want to improve) I really don't know if I will continue this, maybe I will, maybe I won't, who knows.  
> The title is actually the name of a song from GOT7's Youngjae (that song is pure art, go listen to it :3)  
> I guess I'll see you around? If I decide to continue this? Maybe? Hopefully?


	2. Chapter 2

Next were Jaemin's parents. Taeyong was unable to get used to the desinterest these rich people had for their missing sons, which only made him feel more uncomfortable. He truly admired how Doyoung managed to keep a straight face, without showing how disgusted he felt.

"Let's begin" the youngest of the two detectives said, searching through his files "Your son and two of his friends went missing two days ago. I would really like to know a little more about Jaemin"

The man breathed deeply after fixing his sleeves, making it look like talking about his son was something that tired him.

"Jaemin's a bright kid, incredibly smart and witty. But a pain in the ass" Taeyong noticed how Mr. Na's wife rolled her eyes at what was said, not sure if she was agreeing with him or not "He calls himself a 'free spirit'. He obeys when it's convenient, and has the ugly habit of making everything difficult" 

The two detectives looked at each other, not really expecting that. They were waiting for Jaemin's father to talk about him like he was the best thing that happened to him, even if it was a lie. 

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to your son?" the light brown haired detective asked, getting himself ready to hear the worst.

"Honestly? We really don't know. He has everything, money, friends, a great family. Why would he want to run away?" 

Doyoung just stayed quiet when he heard Mrs. Park say those things. If only they would listen to themselves and understand that that wasn't the way to talk about their son.

"How close was your son to Jeno and Renjun?"

"Really close would be an understatement. They were joined at the hip, I don't think I've ever seen Jaemin without those two boys for more than a few short hours" Mrs. Park explained "They did everything together, it was almost disgusting how close they were" 

A couple more questions and they were done with the interview. Two families down, one to go.  
"How can someone talk so badly about their own child? How bad were they for them to talk like they were a pest?" 

Taeyong smiled fondly at Doyoung, the younger seemed cold but he was a huge softie, especially for children of any age. He had this ability to sympathize with others that sometimes it was admirable. But there were times where it became bothersome and an obstacle, particularly when it came to his job.

"Rich people" was all the oldest answered.

"Let's hope Renjun's parents are better human beings"

"Looking at the situation, I wouldn't hope too hard"

Taeyong's head hurt, and his eyes started watering because of how tired he was. He couldn't wait to go home, take a hot shower and go to sleep. But he knew there still was a lot of work to do.

On their way to the interview room, they encountered Johnny, who was part of the team and working on the same missing case.

"I was just looking for both of you. Just wanted to let you know that I called every hospital, homeless shelter and morgue in the area, but nothing. Not a peep from these boys"

They were stuck, and it sucked. However, it was too early to make assumptions. There was still a lot to investigate.

"Jaehyun is trying to track their phones, but it's not working out well. There are already plenty of fliers being put up on the neighborhood, and I heard about the public announcement that it's going to take place tomorrow to make the whole situation known" 

They thanked Johnny for the information and went into the room where an unusual couple sat. It was a women around her thirties, almost forty, accompanied by a young man, around his twenties.

"You're both Renjun's parents?" Doyoung asked, unsure.

"I'm Renjun's mother, refer to me as Ms. Song, please. This is my boyfriend, Kim Yongseok, obviously not Renjun's biological father"

"I'm his nothing, let's get that clear" the guy said, stretching his legs.

They were both baffled, but kept their thoughts to themselves. Renjun's mother had a strong attitude and her boyfriend looked bored and just plain childish playing with his expensive sunglasses.

"Well, let us begin" Doyoung said through a sigh "Was your son acting weird days before his disappearance?"

"My Renjunie? Of course not. He acted like always, calm and nice. If you're assuming he run away, please get that dumb thought out of your heads, Renjunie would never do that"  
Yongseok snorted, still playing with the sunglasses.

"The kid was a pussy, he had no guts to run away, too much of a coward to do anything" the guy said, clearly showing he didn't care at all about the teenager.

Taeyong felt a hand squeezing his thigh under the table that separated them from the other couple. He took a glance at Doyoung, seeing how angry he was. It was apparent that it was getting too much for the younger to handle. 

He slowly put his hand over Doyoung's, trying to calm him down.

"I told you to stay quiet. Keep talking and you're in deep trouble" 

Ms. Song threatened her boyfriend, but Yongseok didn't seem to take her seriously. 

"Yeah, well... Renjun is a little bit of a coward..." the woman said nervously, trying to fix her companion's mistake "And that is a reason for me to believe something else happened, he would be too scared to be on the outside world by himself"

They kept the questions coming, Doyoung being way too tense to ask anything so Taeyong was the one who took the lead of the interview while the younger took notes.

When they finished all the work they had for the day, it was already a little over 11PM. They went together to grab something to eat and had dinner inside Taeyong's car. It was quiet, but the oldest could see Doyoung's brain working at the speed of light.

Without having to be asked, the black haired man started talking.

"How, huh? How can they be so horrible to their sons like that?" he asked through gritted teeth, munching on his french fries "And that awful woman that pretended to talk nicely about his son while she had that monster of a boyfriend. I can't even begin to imagine what a living hell the lives of those boys must've been"

Taeyong reached to grab Doyoung's hand to calm him down. 

"Take a deep breath. This isn't good for you. Rule number one, Doyoung, don't get personally invested in your cases. It won't end well"

He tried to avoid Taeyong's penetrating gaze, distracting himself by bending his drink's straw in many ways, making it almost unusable.

"I know, I just can't help but think about why they run away" he began to say, but got interrupted immediately.

"We don't know that, Doyoung. Don't assume things. We don't know if they run away, if they were kidnapped or if something else happened. What we've got to do is work with what we have, get our facts straight and work from there, no matter where it takes us"

Doyoung sighed.

"I hate when you act smarter than me, even if you're not" he laughed when Taeyong jokingly hit him on the arm.

They looked at each other's eyes for a few seconds before falling into a laughing fit that caused their stomaches to ache.

"Hope you're feeling better" the older of the two dared to say after a comfortable silence.

"Yeah, a little... But you know what would make me feel even better?" Taeyong knew he would regret it when he distinguish malice in Doyoung's dark eyes "A very warm coffee tomorrow morning in that coffee shop I love so much" 

Taeyong let out a laugh after rolling his eyes.

"Fine. Be ready at 7AM. I'm driving"

"It's a date, then"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha ha it seems I'm going to continue this?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning ! there's a violent scene between jaemin and his father  
> read at your own risk

Taeyong rolled his eyes, irritated. Doyoung took an extra half an hour to get ready, making Taeyong wait in his living room bored out of his mind. Tortured the oldest with his weird music taste on their ride to their destination. Then, once they were at the coffee shop, Doyoung managed to persuade Taeyong into not only paying for his venti sized coffee, but also for an unreasonable expensive muffin ( _"Shut up, Tae, it's fucking delicious. Now, buy it for me"_ ), and the little snake didn't even let him have a bite.

It was all worth it, though, when Doyoung flashed him his cutest gummy smile.

An hour later, they were on their way to Jaemin's house to investigate, hoping to find clues, or even better, answers. Once they arrived, they rang the bell of the huge house. The housekeeper opened the door, and after identifying themselves, they were let in and guided to Jaemin's bedroom.

The mansion was like a labyrinth, you could get lost at any turn you took. On the walls, there were hanging many overpriced paintings, photos of Mr. Na and his business partners, and rarely there was a family picture.

Doyoung stopped to look at a photo of Jaemin. He was a very attractive teen, with soft features but a piercing gaze and a killing smile. In that photo he had brown hair, meaning it was taking some time ago, since his resports said Jaemin currently had dyed pink hair.

The housekeeper opened Jaemin's door, being greeted by a room three times the normal size. On a wall, there was a gigantic, wall-sized picture of Jaemin sporting expensive clothes.

"Jaemin's a model" the housekeeper said after seeing the look on the detectives' faces because of the poster "His mother brought him into the modeling world, and he got pretty known for it. Jaemin's mother ordered this poster so it would be put up in here"

"How well did you know Jaemin, Ms....?" Taeyong asked, staying still just to wait for the woman's response. Doyoung, on the other hand, didn't waste any time and started looking through the room.

"Mrs. Kim is alright. And yes, I've known Jaemin since he was a little boy. He was always so full of light and shined in everything he did"

"Mind telling me more about Jaemin, and maybe about Jeno and Renjun? Anything is fine, even the smallest detail helps"

The light-brown-haired detective looked around for his partner, finding him searching Jaemin's bookshelf. The concentrated look made it seem like he wasn't paying attention, but he knew damn well Doyoung was listening to everything.

"Oh, I adore those boys. They spent so much time together that when they weren't side by side, it felt weird. Jaemin loved his friends so much" the woman said warmly, looking at the side like she was remembering something.

**_Flashback_ **

_"Jeno, Jaemin, that's not fair at all! You know I suck at video games!" Renjun crossed his arms at the same time he pouted. He knew how much power **the pout**  held._

_"Oh, Renjunie, come here. We'll do anything you want"_

_He smiled and went to hug the pink-haired teen that had his arms wide open for him. On his way, he grabbed Jeno and made the three of them hug while they laughed at how Jeno half-heartedly tried to escape from being showered with love._

_"Boys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but your snacks are ready. Come on down, they're already served on the table" the housekeeper announced, peaking her head through the space the ajar door left._

_"Thanks, Mrs. Kim!" the three teenagers said in unison before racing to the dinning room._

_The boys ate, laughed and talked until Jaemin's father appeared through the front door looking angry, eyes shooting daggers at his son._

_"Jaemin, what the fuck are you doing at this hour?! You're supposed to be asleep! Tomorrow we have an important meeting with the Choi family, and you're here playing with your friends!"_

_"Dad, it's barely 10PM. And Jeno and Renjun are staying the night" his son answered, praying his voice wouldn't_ _crack and show how scared he truly felt._

_"Did I ask you?! No, I did fucking not! Now get rid of your friends and go to sleep!" they jumped from fear when Mr. Na hit the table with his closed fist, making everything rattle. A glass fell on the floor and it broke into tiny pieces, their breaths hitching from dread._

_"Dad, it's too late to send them home! What if something happens to them on their way home?!"_

_Jaemin started shaking from fear and powerlessness. He would never forgive himself if something happened to the other two boys. Tears started to well up, and tried to calm down when he felt Jeno's discreet hand on his lower back._

_"I don't care about your fucking friends, Jaemin! Get rid of them, NOW!"_

_"It's alright, Jaemin, we'll send you a message once we get home" Renjun said softly, grabbing Jeno by the wrist and leaving without saying anything else. They knew better than to add something in Mr. Na's presence._

_The next minute was reigned by dead silence, the only thing being heard was the pink-haired boy's sniffles. After two seconds passed, he saw his father getting close to him, fright taking over his unmoving body. He choked on a sob when he felt his father's hand squeezing his throat, he could feel the hatred through his hold._

_"This better be the last time you go against my orders, Jaemin, I'm so fucking tired of your disgusting attitude. Next time, I won't be so forgiving"_

_He let his son go after watching his son's face turn another color other than red, observing without remorse how he slid to the floor while trying to catch his breath and not choke on his sobs. Mr. Na took Jaemin's phone from his jacket's pocket and started walking to his office._

_"Get up and go to sleep. You better wake up tomorrow on time, or I'm forbidding you from seeing your friends"_

_Jaemin tried to get up, but he felt so weak and defenseless. He put his hand over his mouth when he felt like he was going to throw up from crying so much and the pain his father's choking caused._

_How was he supposed to know if Jeno and Renjun were okay now? He wanted to scream to let off some steam, but decided against it when the thought of his father choking him again clouded his mind._

_"Jaemin, get up" a sweet, hushed voice spoke to him. Through blurry eyes, he saw Mrs. Kim trying to help him._

_She had seen everything. However, Jaemin didn't have the time or strength to feel ashamed, he was too worried. He finally let his housekeeper guide him to his room while he forced himself to stop crying._

_"Sleep, tomorrow you have a lot to do"_

_"I can't. I can't stop thinking about Junie and Jen" tears started stream down his cheeks without his permission, hiding his face in his soft pillow, one that smelled oddly like Renjun's shampoo._

_With a soft caress, Mrs. Kim left the room. Conflicted, she walked towards Mr. Na's office, which was luckily empty for the moment. She saw the phone and took it, leaving as fast as she had entered. She unlocked Jaemin's phone (his password was quite easy, it was Renjun's, Jeno's and Jaemin's birthdays combined). She felt extremely bad for going through her boss' son's phone, but she felt like it was a need. On the messages app, she found their groupchat filled with worried texts._

_Walking quickly, Mrs. Kim found herself entering once again Jaemin's room. She touched his shaking shoulder softly, but the boy still flinched, however, he calmed down when he saw it wasn't his father preying on him to hurt him over and over again. His eyes started shining from relief when he saw his phone._

_"I'm going to have to ask you to be quick, I have to put it back"_

_Jaemin nodded and entered the groupchat._

 

_**softinjun** : i just got home, i'm ok 10:47pm_

_**nojamjeno** : me too 11:03pm_

_**nojamjeno** : nana isnt answerinf, is he alright???? 11:12pm_

_**softinjun** : i hope so 11:12pm_

_**softinjun** : pls answer when u see this jaems. 11:12pm_

_**softinjun** : u're taking too long to answer jaemin pls r u alright?? 11:24pm_

_**nojamjeno** : jaemin answer us we r worried 11:25pm_

_**nojamjeno** : minnie come on im getting anxious !! 11:31pm_

_**softinjun** : his dad looked so angry jen, what if he did something to him??!? 11:31pm_

_**nojamjeno** : jun dont say that !! 11:32pm_

_**softinjun** : im going to srsly cry 11:32pm_

_**nanathegreat** : im fine _

_**nanathegreat** : my father took my ohone i dnt have much time bc i hv to put it back wher it was _

_**nanathegreat** : im just going to sleep and ill see u tmrrw _

_**nanathegreat** : i love both of u so mch 11:36pm_

 

_He turned his phone off and gave it back to Mrs. Kim, managing to smile through his pained state._

_Jaemin suddenly hugged his housekeeper tightly, holding back his tears._

_"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're risking so much, but you still helped me"_

_"No worries, I know how much those two boys mean to you. Now go to sleep"_

* * *

 

"Jaemin would do the unspeakable for Jeno and Renjun. No matter where they are now, as long as the three of them are together, I know they can overcome anything" Mrs. Kim told the detectives with a fond smile.

"Was Jaemin learning chinese?" Doyoung questioned when spotting chinese exercise books on the desk after a few seconds of silence. 

"Emm... no. But Jeno was. You're definitely going to find things that belong to Jeno and Renjun in here. For example, that sweater belongs to Reniun" both Taeyong and Doyoung looked at the desk chair where an orange sweater was draped over "And those sunglasses are Jeno's. I can keep pointing things out, but actually, I have work to do. So I'll leave you alone, detectives. Please find those boys"

The door locked behind the housekeeper, the men inside the room looked at each other.

"Found anything?" Taeyong asked.

"Mmm... nothing for now, I just checked superficially, anyways. Although, I wanted to look at this"

On the wall next to the bed there were many photos glued into a beautiful collage. Jeno and Renjun appeared on every picture, and in some Jaemin was there with them.

"They certainly shared a special bond" Taeyong thought out loud.

"Yeah, even his computer's home screen is a picture of Jeno and Renjun"

"Funny how there's no family picture in this room" the oldest detective murmured, observing the place in its totality.

Doyoung sat down on the desk, grabbing the computer and clicking on Google Chrome. He went directly to Jaemin's search history. Taeyong decided to stand behind Doyoung, breathing down his neck in an annoying way. But the other detective was too occupied to even pay attention to his partner.

"No porn? Weird"

"Stop assuming everyone's as disgusting as you, Taeyong"

"He probably searched it through incognito" Doyoung just sighed, not in the mood to have a fight and entertain Taeyong. 

To summarize Jaemin's search history, it was just dumb stuff like 'gift ideas' and 'cute animals', or just school related stuff. Nothing that could really lead them to something specific. It was frustrating, to say the least.

"Tell me I'm not the only one that is feeling this way" Doyoung begged, eyes landing on every little thing on the bedroom, like if he observed everything once again hard enough, he would magically get the answers he was expecting. 

"It's too clean" the other man said, like he just read the black-haired detective's mind.

"Exactly, it feels wrong. Like things aren't where they are supposed to be just to hide the truth"

"Or maybe we're just looking too much into it"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my friend has a huge picture of her on her wall, that's where the idea of jaemin's wall-sized photograph actually came from ha ha  
> i actually wanted to name the norenmin groupchat, but nothing good came to mind srry :/


	4. Chapter 4

Next on their agenda, was Renjun's house, who lived ten blocks away from Jaemin. The house looked just as big as the previous one.

After they rang the bell, Ms. Song opened but shushed them when they tried to greet her. She was too busy on the phone to pay enough attention, so she led them to Renjun's room without a word. They noticed there was not even one photo or painting on the walls that led them to their destination. It was just boring, naked walls. When they arrived to the bedroom, she left, still with the phone on her ear.

"That was disrespectful" Doyoung muttered, rolling his eyes.

Unlike Jaemin's plain, white door, Renjun's was decorated with doodles and paint. When they entered the bedroom, they understood that Renjun was an artist. Scattered everywhere, there were canvas, brushes, paint, finished and unfinished paintings, pencils, papers.

"Wow, damn, the kid's good! Look at this painting of kittens! It looks fucking real, Doyoung"

Said man looked more interested in a particular painting, hidden in a corner. It was a distroyed canvas painted with dark colors. It seemed that there had been a rainbow before Renjun painted it black over it. To Doyoung it didn't look like nothing, but he knew that to Renjun it meant something.

The walls were covered with paintings, also with pictures of nature and, not surprisingly, Jeno and Jaemin.

"They mean so much to each other" he murmured, a slight pain taking over his chest at the thought of those boys' whereabouts.

They didn't find anything in particular that could help them with the case, just a few moomin plushies hidden in the closet, a camera without film on the messy desk, unfinished homework under the bed.

"He played the violin, right?" Taeyong asked, grabbing the violin case from where it stood in a corner of the huge room.

Doyoung looked at the instrument, suddenly noticing something. Inside the case there was a small, pink folded paper. He took it between his fingers and unfolded it.

_For: Renjunie ❤️_

_From: Jeno_

_Hope you like your brithday present, you better learn how to play my favorite song and dedicate it to me ;)_

_Love you, Junie !!!_

He left the letter where it belonged and turned to keep investigating the room. Something caught his eye, it was something inside the closet that he had missed the first time looking inside it. It was a ladder.

"Why would he have a ladder in there?"

The question captured Taeyong's attention, so he turned around and followed the younger's line of sight. He watched as Doyoung pulled the not-so-tall ladder out and stepped on it.

"I think there's something here"

He started knocking the ceiling inside the closet with his knuckles, stopping when he heard a part of the ceiling was hollow and could could be pulled out. He removed that tiny part of the ceiling.

"Be careful. What if there are rats in there?" the oldest detective observed with repugnance, Doyoung touching the inside of the ceiling in search for something.

"Found something"

"It better not be a rat or I'll be sick"

The black-haired male pulled out a box, the things inside of it making it rattle. He got close to Taeyong so both of them could see what was in it.

As soon as he opened it, they saw many pictures. Doyoung grabbed them and left the box on the bed to take a better look at them.

They were pictures of Jaemin and Jeno -not a surprise- taken in different angles, places and times. One of them was of Jaemin laying down on the bed looking straight at the camera with a strikingly beautiful smile; other one was of a topless Jeno in the school lockers, and the next photo was of both Jaemin and Jeno topless in the same settings about to put on shirts.

"These look oddly intimate" was Taeyong's input.

The rest of the pictures were normal ones with just the two boys posing and smiling at Renjun's camera.

Doyoung grabbed the box once more to find two SD cards. He went directly to the seat in front of the laptop that was over the desk and turned it on. The home screen was a picture of three teenagers hugging in the middle of what looked like a park. Sadly, it needed a password.

"Well, we'll have to take this to Jaehyun so he can examine it"

They went through everything one more time just to make sure they didn't miss anything the first time, and were ready to leave with the two SD cards and the laptop -with Ms. Song's permission, who was still too busy with her phone-.

On their way out, they were stopped by a blonde boy with chubby cheeks who was seating on the living room's couch by talking out of nowhere, but still managing to multitask by playing games on his phone.

"Are you the detectives that are in charge of finding my cousin and his friends?"

The two adults looked at each other a little confused, yet weren't dumb to let their chance to get more information slip.

"That's correct. I'm detective Kim Doyoung and this is my partner detective Lee Taeyong. You are...?"

"Zhong Chenle, like I said, Renjun's younger cousin" said the boy, still not looking up from his game "He really liked painting, he said it was a way to express oneself and not keep everything bottled up, to relieve stress. At the beginning I called it bullshit, until I saw how much it meant to him. This house, these empty walls used to be covered in his paintings"

"What happened, then? Why are there no paintings anymore?"

**_Flashback_ **

_Renjun stood proud in front of his new painting, which now hanged on the wall next to many other ones. He was truly pleased with how this one had turned out. It was ambiguous to the ordinary eye, but to him it had a very clear and specific meaning._

_The canvas was painted with different shades of brown, the surface being cut in half by an eye-catching, shiny rainbow._

_"Wow, it looks... great?"_

_Renjun just laughed at his cousin's attempted compliment._

_"It's 'cause you don't understand, Lele. This painting represents my life" the blond noticed the faint blush on the brunette's cheeks "My life is brown, dull and awful. And the rainbow represents Jeno and Jaemin, they bring color and purpose to my horrible, meaningless life"_

_Chenle stayed quiet while watching Renjun's fingers softly and lovingly run through his painted rainbow. The painting didn't cause any effect on him, but, just by looking at Renjun's face, he could see how important it was to him, how it symbolized reassurance to the older boy that not everything was horrendous in his life._

_"You call this art?" Renjun flinched at the booming noise and Chenle took a step back when he saw an extremely drunk Yongseok next to them "Looks like shit to me"_

_Those slurred words hurt Renjun more than he let on._

_"I like it" he whispered, not able to look at his mother's boyfriend in the eye._

_"You like this? How? It doesn't have anything special! Well, what was I expecting from a gross faggot like you?!"_

_The next thing Yongseok did made Renjun's heart crumble into tiny, disintegrated pieces._

_"NO! Yongseok! Please, STOP!"_

_The douchebag had taken out his pocket knife and started cutting the painting with anger until it was completely destroyed. Swaying on his feet because of his tipsy state, he threw the massacred canvas at Renjun's feet. The boy couldn't stop shaking and sobbing, eyes full of tears, looking down horrified at his ruined art._

_Chenle just stood there in a corner, petrified, as he watched Yongseok go inside his aunt's bedroom and closing the door behind him._

Chenle realized he had spaced out when he saw his phone screen flashing a big **GAME OVER** , and he remembered he still had to answer.

"He just felt like his paintings weren't... appreciated enough"

His phone started ringing, and when he saw it was his vocal coach, he pressed the answer botton and left the detectives without saying goodbye.

Feeling a little uneasy because of the really small talk they had with Chenle, they arrived at Jeno's house. They knew the blond boy was hiding something.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fan fact: I've lived in my house for over a year, and just two weeks ago I realized there was a ladder inside my closet. I always thought it was part of the wall xD


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence 
> 
> where I live it's still Christmas. so Merry Christmas everybody! thanks for your comments and kudos, they mean a lot to me ❤️

From the outside it was clearly obvious that Jeno's house was bigger than the other two houses. They knocked on the door and the steward was the one who opened it. After identifying themselves and greeting the employee, they were guided to Jeno's bedroom.

It was what you would call "an ordinary boy's room". It had posters of different bands, sports players and anime; mangas piled up on the bookshelves; an old violin and a guitar in the same state inside a small closet; a speaker system connected to the computer. But the only thing all the bedrooms had in common, were the photographs. In all of them, there were photos of the three of them together. Although, Jeno had his pictures framed over a furniture.

"No sign of family pictures here either" Taeyong said, touching the frames softly, and he heard Doyoung agreeing with him.

On the wall, there was a built-in shelf, where all of Jeno's medals, trophies and diplomas were on display for winning in various fields, especially sports, above all, basketball. He had even once won a spelling contest.

"Wow, this kid must be a genius, what the hell?" was all Taeyong managed to say as a result of his shock.

Doyoung started looking through the desk's drawers. On the first one, there were old videogames, candy wrappers and some blank sticky notes. The second and third ones were empty, however the fourth drawer caught their attention because it was locked. 

"We need a key" 

Their search didn't take too long, because on the fifth drawer there was a total of three keys hanging from a keychain. The keychain was a metal plate, with a frase ingraved in it that said: _"Nor is death sad for death will end my sorrow"_. Doyoung didn't understand why a teenager would have something like that engraved, making him feel like something was very wrong. They examined the keys, noticing that two of them looked similar. They tried with the key that was different, and indeed, that was the right one. 

"This felt too easy" Doyoung said, eyebrows furrowed "We found the keys and opened the drawer in less then twenty minutes. Something feels wrong"

"Doyoungie, you're looking too much into it. Let's just see what's inside"

The youngest of the two sighed, letting it go for the time being; however, he still kept the remaining keys to put them away on his pants pocket. Inside the drawer they found a crumpled math test.

"He got a C in this"

"Doyoung, is that blood?!"

On the second page of the exam there was a splatter of something red akin to blood. They had seen so much of it because of their profession that they already knew the answer. With apprehension, they decided to take the piece of paper to their labs for closer examination.

The room also seemed too clean, especially since the police asked the families to not clean the boys' rooms as to not tamper with any potential evidence. The beedroom was too tidy for it to belong to a teenager, even the walls looked spotless. Could that be a clue or were those boys really that organized? 

After not finding anything else, they were ready to get back to their workplace to hand Renjun's computer and the two SD cards to Jaehyun, and Jeno's bloody test to their analysis expert, Sicheng.

The detectives stopped on their tracks when they were outside the mansion because there was someone standing on the sidewalk looking right at them like they were expecting something. The person held open the door of a luxurious car that Taeyong could only dream of ever having.

"Are you two Mr. Lee's business partners? I'm here to take you home"

Realization dawned upon both males, this was the Lee's family chauffeur.

"No, we're detectives Kim Doyoung and Lee Taeyong. We are here to investigate Jeno's disappearance"

"Oh, then I'm sorry, that was quite unprofessional of me" the old man looked at the floor, taking off his sunglasses. His dark eyes showed how tired he was "Any leads on little Jeno's whereabouts?"

"Not yet" Taeyong waited two seconds before asking "How well did you know Jeno?"

The chauffeur's eyes lowered at the mention of the teenager, him going missing probably hurt him to some degree.

"Up until now, I used to be his private chauffeur. I've been taking him to all sorts of places since he was just a cute little six-year-old. He used to be so hyper, until he began middle school, there was too much pressure on him. And on top of that, he's an overachiever, he has to be the best in everything he does or else..."

**_Flashback_ **

_Jeno saw is driver coming in from the corner of his eyes, the tesion in the air so thick he felt suffocated, making it hard to breathe. It didn't matter if his chauffeur was there, the man wasn't going to help him anyways. Not because he was evil, but because no one could stand against Mr. Lee._

_"Explain. Now."_

_His father's voice swarming with impatience and anger only made the teen more anxious. The paper in his progenitor's hand mocking him._

_"What is this? A 'C'? How did this happen?"_

_The voice was so calm it made it harder to look up and confront the man towering over him. He saw and heard the test being crumpled on his father's fist and thrown onto the floor._

_"A 'C'?! I have not raised an idiot, Jeno! Explain to me how you let this happen, NOW!"_

_"I don't know!"_

_Mistake._

_He made a mistake._

_He should've never said that._

_"You don't know. You don't know?!" his father got dangerously close to him "It's those friends of yours, you're too distracted with them"_

_"NO!"_

_Second mistake._

_"You raise your goddamn voice again against me and you're going to deeply regret it! I'm forbidding you to see your friends until you show me you're not turning fucking stupid!" the older man screamed at his face, Jeno could feel his father's disgusting saliva splashing over his cheeks. "You're going to go to your mother's office..."_

_"THAT WHORE ISN'T MY MOTHER!"_

_Third mistake._

_Jeno felt so much numbing pain on his face it caused his head to start spinning. His hands hurt from having to cushion his hard landing, his fingers barely touched his bloody nose while his eyes finally focused on that stupid test stained with his blood from the hit. Full of fear, he slowly looked up at his pissed father._

_"Call Hyoyeon that again, and it'll only be worse for you"_

_"Then bring it on, because that's what she is" his voice wavered, he knew he shouldn't have said that but he still did, feeling adrenaline running through his veins._

_He felt another hit to his face, one single, stray tear almost started running down his cheek, but he catched it with his sleeve before it fell._

_"I can keep hitting you all day long, Jeno. You can keep defying me all you want, but you'll NEVER see your little friends again" Jackpot. His father hit right in his most vulnerable spot, Jaemin and Renjun "You'll go to Hyoyeon's office, you'll organize your next schedule with her, and you're coming back the instant you finish. You are not allowed to go out again until I say it's okay"_

_"But today is Jaemin's birthday!" the teen cried out, tears on the corners of his eyes._

_"I don't give two shits, Jeno. Do as I say, or you know what will happen"_

_He ran outside, getting inside his ride, waiting for his chauffeur to take him to his stepmother's office. The old man eyed him with sadness, horrified to admit this wasn't the first time something like this occurred. He handed the boy some ice to put over his nose._

_Jeno took his phone out and dialed Jaemin's number, not having to wait much before the other boy answered. The coldness from the ice distracting him a little from his current situation._

_"Hey Jen, Junie's already here. When are you dropping by?"_

_He tried, he really did try to quiet down his sobs, but he wasn't able to. His whole body shook with tremors and an outright cry. He casted his head down, the ice starting to sting against his nose, but he didn't care._

_"Jeno! What's happening?! Talk to us!"_

_The boy inside the moving car wasn't sure which of the two other teens talked to him, but he couldn't stop crying._

_"I c-can't come, Nana" he tried to hide his face in his hands, but he hisses painfully when he touched his bloody, bruised nose. "I'm so so so so sorry!"_

_"Jen! It's alright! Just talk to us, tell us what's going on"_

_"I'm so sorry Nana, for not being there on you birthday. I really want to be there with both of you" slowly, he laid down on the seat, eyes full of tears focusing on the ceiling of the car. "I need both of you so much right now"_

_"Jen, what happened?" Renjun's calming voice made all his nerves go numb for a few seconds._

_"My dad found the C" he whispered so softly it was almost unhearable. "He hit me and forbid me to see you both"_

_"Jen... He has done worse to you. Please, be safe. I don't know what Junie and I would do if something worse happened to you. As my birthday wish, I want you to be more careful"_

_Jeno let out an ugly sob, trying to muffle it with his arm over his mouth, ignoring the pain on his face. His heart hurt a lot more._

_"Don't waste your birthday wish on something dumb like that, Nana" Jeno tried cleaning up his blood with a napkin his driver just handed him. He saw through the window a familiar scenery "I'm almost at the witch's office, I gotta go. I love both of you so much" he murmured the last part, pouring so much emotions into that small sentence._

_"And we love you, Jeno"_

_Renjun's voice was the last thing he heard before his chauffeur stopped in front of his stepmother's workplace._

"You were saying?" Doyoung brought him out of his thoughts, startling the employee a bit.

"He has to be the best in everything he does or else he's very hard on himself. Never saw a boy his age so hard on himself to achieve number one"

The conversation was left at that when the real business partners came out and the driver had to do his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s. the quote on the keychain is part of the narcissus myth. the quote plays a big role on this story but it's not based on narcissus story, so it's not related to the myth here.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year!

Taeyong and Doyoung got to the station so tired, all they did after handing Jaehyun and Sicheng the computer, the two SD cards and the blood-covered test, was sit down and drink a coffee together.

"The staff are lying" Doyoung said, taking another seep of his black coffee. "They work in those houses and they've probably seen more than they let on"

"That's pretty obvious, Doyoung. The only reason they don't talk is because they're afraid to lose their jobs"

"Is it really worth it? They could be hiding crucial information that could help us find them" 

Taeyong suggested for them to go home to change clothes since in two hours they had to be present in the public announcement of the missing case, and he really wanted Doyoung to stop thinking so darkly. On their way out, they stopped right in front of Jaehyun's workplace after hearing a frustrated groan and angry typing. Entering the place, they weren't expecting to see three of five computer monitors to be all red and flashing the word "DANGER" every two seconds.

"What...?" was all Doyoung got to say before he was interrupted by Jaehyun letting out another groan.

"One of the SD cards you guys gave me had a freaking virus and I can't stop it from spreading!" smashing the keyboard with his fists in frustration, he turned his chair so he could face the two detectives. "Whoever created that virus is one hell of a programmer, I would love to meet them"

"But were you able to find anything, at least?" Taeyong asked, looking with concern at the red flashing screens.

"On the first one only. The moment I inserted the second SD card, hell broke loose on my babies" Jaehyun pouted, hand caressing his computers. "Here, take a look"

He showed them a laptop, inside the card were plenty of files, mostly photo albums organized by date. Doyoung searched for the first album, one from 2014.

It was pictures of Jaemin and Jeno playing on the park like little kids, looking a lot younger. The three of them spent a little less than an hour looking through photos, and when the detectives realized they wouldn't have time to change clothes, they decided to stay and keep investigating.

They went through all albums until 2016, where the feeling of the pictures started changing. Some appeared like they were taken in darker places, and the boys smiled less. At the end of that album there was a video. With hesitant fingers, they played it.

_"_ _I'm interviewing you" a soft voice behind the camera said, filming Jaemin, who was lying face-up on his bed with his cellphone in hand. "Nana, look at me"_

_The brown-haired boy rolled on his tummy and smiled brightly at the camera. He did weird faces and winked a few times, drawing out a soft laugh from the cameraman._

_"Ask away, reporter Renjun"_

_Renjun sat down on the floor, ready to ask his first question to the other boy._

_"What do you want to do in the future?"_

_"Business" was the immediate answer._

_"I said what YOU want, not what your parents want"_

_There was a pause were Jaemin's face contorted into something like pain, but it was gone as fast as it came._

_"A teacher, maybe a kindergarten teacher. But since my parents would never allow it, business it is. How about you, Injunie?"_ _Jaemin grabbed the camera from Renjun's hands after some struggling because the older didn't want to let go of the device "I'm_ _the interviewer now. What do you want to do?"_

_"That's easy. I want to be an artist, a photographer. Sadly, my mom says it's 'not professional enough', so I will also have to follow either business or law"_

_"How about you, Jeno?" the camera turned towards Jaemin's desk, where the third boy was studying "Can you stop for a second and come have fun with us for once?_

_"I have an exam tomorrow, I can't" Jeno really tried not to look at the other two boys, because he knew they were pouting at him. But he was weak, so he ended up sitting next to Renjun on the floor once he saw those cute pouts._

_"What do you want to do?"_

_"I..." Renjun cooed at him when his ears turned red from embarrassment "I want to be a veterinarian"_

_"But you're allergic to fur" Jaemin deadpanned._

_"So? I guy can dream. Not like it's going to happen anyways. We already have our futures planned out until our deaths" Jeno laid his head on Renjun's lap, playing with the hem of his shirt "After we finish high school next year, we are going to go to the same college to study business so we can keep our family's companies. Then, we'll work at said companies until we retire and then we will die"_

_"That's such a sad life" Renjun acknowledged the truth with a sad face, carding his fingers through Jeno's black hair "The only good thing is that we're all going to be together"_

_"I think that that's the only thought that keeps us going" was the last thing Jaemin whispered before the video ended._

The three of them stared at each other, not knowing what to say after what they saw. It was heartbreaking how those teens weren't able to follow their dreams because their parents were holding them back and wanting them to go another road.

The 2017 album didn't have many pictures, the one major change they noticed was their hair colors, it was no longer black. Jaemin having dyed it to pink, Renjun to blond and Jeno to a light-brown.

"I'll try to get rid of this virus, maybe there's something that could help the case once it's gone" Jaehyun said, sliding on his swivel chair towards his computers, where the screens still flashed red. "Oh, and I still have to hack into the laptop you gave me, so we will be seeing each other"

They said their goodbyes to Jaehyun. Taeyong and Doyoung agreed on grabbing another coffee since they had already spent all their time they had to change.

"Hey, guys!" Sicheng was on the doorframe of the lab, waving them over. Instead of going to the cafeteria, they head over to the Chinese analyst's lab "I already have the results. Positive por Jeno's blood on his exam"

He hand them the analysis that explained with more complex details that it was indeed Jeno's blood. They skimmed through it, thanked Sicheng and left directly to the public announcement that was being held at the police station because they didn't have time anymore for a coffee.

"Why would there be blood on this test?" Doyoung questioned, holding the exam that was inside a bag to protect it "Do you think that maybe his father found out and...?"

"We don't know. We'll ask Mr. Lee when we see him now on the police station por the public announcement" the other detective said, holding the door open for his partner to go outside first.

"I really hope this announcement helps us with the case. We really have absolutely nothing if we stop to think about it, no leads and we're not close to finding those boys at all" Doyoung said, taking his jacket off considering the weather was burning hot even if the sun was setting.

"It's still too early to have leads, these type of cases always take time" was all the answer Taeyong could provide.

"And that makes it better?! No, Taeyong, it doesn't. Those boys are out there, who knows what happened to them. Is time really on their side?"

After a deafening silence, Doyoung looked defeated at the ground, he walked across the parking lot to enter the passenger's seat of Taeyong's car while the oldest just watched his retreating back with sad eyes. He followed him, got inside and started the car.

"How about I take you out for dinner tonight? To distract you a little bit from work" Taeyong suggested. Doyoung's eyes were glued to the floor, but a smile made it's way through his attempts at looking grim.

"Fine, but you're paying"

At the police station, the place was already organized for the announcement to take place, there were even photos framed of the teenagers so people would have an image of what they looked like. There were a bunch of reporters with their cameras to go live on local and national television. The announcement was of such huge scale because the boys were sons of extremely important and rich people, so the parents made sure it was news everywhere.

Doyoung and Taeyong stood on the side, along with Taeil, who was the one in charge of speaking and carrying out the information about the missing case. Doyoung's sharp eyes found the group of rich people chatting in a circle, even Ms. Song's boyfriend was there. Mr Na laughed at something Mrs. Park had said, and his blood started boiling.

"Calm down" Taeyong had noticed how worked up he was getting, so he whispered that into his ear softly.

It worked a little, but he had to completely forget about it when he realized the announcement was about to start. Taeil got in front of the crowd of resorters and checked if the microphone was working correctly. When they gave him a signal, Taeil cleared his throat and started speaking.

"Good evening, we're interrupting the news to make a public service announcement about a recent missing case. We're talking about three teenage boys, Huang Renjun and Lee Jeno, both seventeen years old and Na Jaemin, sixteen years old. They went missing this Tuesday, June 13th. They finished their school day in Seoul Private High School at 3pm, Jeno and Jaemin had basketball practice afterwards and Renjun violin classes, but they never appeared to their respective activities, and they didn't go home either. They haven't been seen since then. If you have information that could help the case, please contact the Seoul Police Department"

Taeil stepped to the side to let the parents talk. Doyoung gagged at the fake pretend worry those rich people were demonstrating, talking about how much they missed their sons and that they needed them.

Mrs. Park, Jaemin's mother, took a step closer to the mic, examining the crowd before saying: "There is a reward in exchange for useful information. The reward is up to 100.000 dollars"

**(...)**

"Wow, rich people" was all Taeyong said after the announcement, still in shock "That's a big sum of money"

"Taeyong, that's like a little over twice our annual salary. Rich people have so much money to waste, at least now they're using it for something with purpose"

They were waiting for Mr. Lee to stop talking to some reporters so they could question him about Jeno's blood covered exam. The man turned around, finding himself face-to-face with the two detectives. His passive, uninterested face somehow made Doyoung's blood start boiling for the second time that evening.

"We wanted to talk to you, Mr. Lee, in private"

Mr. Lee brought his wife along, walking deeper inside the police station into an interrogation room.

"What is this about?" Mr. Lee asked, fixing his watch and suit.

"About this" all eyes landed on the piece of paper on the table, blood visibly shown. "Do you recognize it?"

"No, not at all. Is this really Jeno's? He has never gotten a C before in his life" Jeno's father had a confused frown, looking at his elegantly dressed wife to make sure she didn't know anything "What is that red thing, anyways? Is it what I think it is-?"

"That's blood, Mr. Lee" analyzing every change in expression on the couple's faces, Doyoung wasn't able to differentiate if they were acting or not. "Are you sure you know nothing?"

"Pretty sure I would remember seeing this exam"

They had to let them go since they didn't have anything else to ask. Even if they were lying, they couldn't hold anything against them without proof.

"I don't even want to start thinking about how the blood got there" the younger whispered, hugging Taeyong in the loneliness of the interrogation room, his fingers softly playing with Taeyong's hair.

"Then don't" Taeyong planted a lingering kiss on Doyoung's forehead, smiling warmly at him to try to lift his mood "Let's go, I promised you a date"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone is lying or hiding secrets...


	7. Chapter 7

The following day Taeyong and Doyoung went to the school to interrogate some students about the three missing teenagers. But first, they asked to take a look at the boys' lockers. The police had already went through their stuff the first day the boys' were declared missing, but they wanted to double-check. Maybe there was something they had missed then.

Jeno's locker was painted navy blue and had glued stickers of basketballs and some hearts with Jaemin's and Renjun's names in them. There was a single photo of the three of them smiling brightly at the camera on one of the locker walls. There was only two books and a Chinese exercise book, a water bottle and a wrinkled hoodie.

Jaemin's was all black, the only apparent reason for this was that his star stickers on the walls could shine in the dark. There were, at least, five textbooks inside, a comb, and lip balm. A mirror hanged on the inside of the door, alongside a cute picture of the three teens.

Renjun's locker was painted with many colors. It was messy, books piled up in an unorganized way, color pencils and drawings scattered all over the place, there was gum, a ruler, some money, and violin sheet music. The inside of the steel door was decorated with alien spaceships and sticky notes that said things like "Algebra exam on Wednesday!!!", there was one that said "we love you -Jeno & Jaemin". But what the detectives found weird was that there were no photos inside, something that was a constant when it came to the boys.

After talking to the principal and to the teachers that had the three boys in their classes, they gave them a list with the students the teens frequently talked to, and the kids already had permission from their parents so the detectives could question them with the only condition being that a teacher had to be present during the interrogation. The principal lended them her office to do the questionings in there.

The teacher apparently all parents trusted was the literature teacher, Qian Kun. He told the detectives he was only going to be there to reassure the parents that "weird things" weren't being asked to their children, and that he was simply going to stay in a corner quietly.

The secretary made sure to call those kids one at a time through the megaphone so it would be heard throughout the school. The first person to be named was a girl named Kim Yerim. The delicate girl looked scared, but when she saw the detectives she understood the situation. She also visibly relaxed when she saw Kun.

"We are detectives Kim Doyoung and Lee Taeyong, we would like to ask you a couple of questions about Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin" the girl nodded, giving them permission to continue "Were you friends with them?"

"Not really. No one was really 'friends' with them. They were the most popular boys of the school, yes, they talked to plenty of people, yes, but none were their friends. They were an odd trio. I did talk the most with Jaemin since we were once partners in a project and he sometimes asked me how my day was, but that was pretty much it. Jaemin's very charismatic and amazing with words, he has a way with people that is really admirable"

"I see... mind telling me a bit more about them?" Doyoung inquired while taking notes of what Yerim was telling them, even the littlest details helped. "How they acted, for example."

"Well... I can only say very little because I never really knew them on a personal level. They showed what they wanted people to see, I always felt this sort of fake aura about them" she momenteraly panicked after those words came out of her mouth "Don't get me wrong, I'm not badmouthing them! It's just that their smiles seemed fake most of the time, and so did their interest in other people. It felt like they were just using a mask to deceive the rest"

"What makes you say that?" the detectives looked at the girl with attentiveness.

"I'm not sure... just the way they weren't close with anyone except each other. Besides, they did have quite the reputation around the school"

"What kind of reputation?"

"People loved them as much as they hated them. Kids wanted to be them. There were plenty of rumors going around about them. Like, how Jeno assumably payed the teachers to give him straight A's. Or how Jaemin apparently manipulated people to get his way because of how good he handled himself around people. Even Renjun, that everyone believed to be a snitch because of how quiet he was"

"Is there anything else you would like to add that you think is important?" Taeyong asked, knowing that they still had no useful information.

"Renjun was being bullied. There was always this group of kids that liked to mess with him. Jeno and Jaemin even got suspended once for defending Renjun" Yerim said, putting a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

"Was there any particular reason for them to bully Renjun?"

"Well... Renjun was a very peculiar kid. He was interested in the weirdest things, like aliens and conspiracy theories, he would express himself artistically and I think the biggest reason for the bullying was that he did ballet and the 'cool kids' would say that ballet was only for girls and started spreading rumors that he was gay and dumb stuff like that. They would pick on him when he wasn't with Jeno and Jaemin, and that was mostly during PE. They would kick balls at him, hit him saying it was an 'accident'..."

_ **Flashback** _

_Renjun was sassy and snarky, he looked like he had a strong mentality. But when it came to his usual bullies he wasn't able to say a word, he couldn't even pretend to stand up for himself._

_PE class had just ended, and he was so scared to go into the showers alone. He wanted to call Jeno and Jaemin, but both boys had extracurricular activities. And as much as he wanted to shower in his house, he had to be at his violin class in an hour and he didn't have time to go home. And he definitely wasn't going to go smelling like sweat._

_He waited until almost everyone was out for him to get undressed and start the water. The feeling of eyes on his back made him anxious, causing him try to shower faster so he could get out of there as soon as possible._

_When he finished, he went to grab his towel, realizing that it wasn't there. Just like his clothes. His bullies laughing far away mockingly taunted him. What was he supposed to do now? Jeno and Jaemin were probably already on their way to basketball practice, so there was no one to help him._

_He hugged himself on the floor, trying to cover himself up and stop shaking from both cold and panic. He couldn't stop crying and soon, he felt like he wasn't able to breathe._

_The bullies ran out of the shower rooms, laughing like they had achieved something. On their way out, they stumbled with a girl, making her fall. They didn't help her nor did they apologize, they just kept running._

_Yerim, the girl on the floor, recognized the yellow hoodie on the leaders hands, and immediately went to go look for Jeno and Jaemin. They were seconds away from getting out of the school, but she screamed a loud 'Wait!' that had made, not only the two boys, but almost everyone look at her._

_"It's Renjun. I think Minhyuk and his minions stole his clothes from the showers"_

_They thanked her before they dashed towards Renjun, both of them seething with absolute rage._

_They found him in a far corner of the showers, trembling and trying to catch his breath at the same time he cried and sobbed. Jeno touched his shoulder slowly to grab his attention, and he jumped because he hadn't heard them come in, but when he saw who they were, he immediately hugged both teens._

_Jaemin snaked his arms around Renjun's tiny shaking body to keep him close and share his warmth, not caring at all that he was getting wet as well. Jaemin rested his chin over Renjun's soaked blond hair, watching Jeno take his jacket off to offer it to the trembling teen. The jacket was large enough to cover his intimate parts, but not enough to stop the cold from seeping in._

_"I have a change of clothes on my locker, wait here" Jaemin said, giving Renjun to Jeno for him to hug._

_The boy was still trembling in Jeno's arms, and to help, the younger tightened his hold around the small body, while he whispered sweet things into Renjun's ear, giving him tiny kisses on the head and cheeks._

_Jaemin came back with a shirt and sweatpants, both looked like they were going to be big on his tiny body. He put them on and let Jaemin give him another hug and a big kiss on the forehead._

_"C'mon Nana, we have to catch Minhyuk" Jeno said, letting go of Renjun's hand._

_"That asshole is probably outside smoking with his stupid friends" Jaemin mentioned through gritted teeth, getting closer to Jeno so both could go catch Renjun's bully._

_"Wait, no, don't get in trouble" Renjun begged, still shivering. His cold hands catched both their wrists to stop them from leaving._

_Jeno and Jaemin decided to obey Renjun, but not before exchanging a knowing look. They were going to make Minhyuk and his followers pay one way or another._

_Wearing Jaemin's shirt and pants and Jeno's jacket, he got sandwiched between their bodies. Both boys hiding their faces in Renjun's neck, noticing how his breathing and shaking subsided._

_"You should've called us, Junnie. You know not to be alone during PE class" Jaemin whispered, not wanting to disturb the peace that surrounded the three. Before Renjun could defend himself, he added "It doesn't matter that we had other activities. Fuck extracurriculars. You're more important, you're our priority"_

_"Jaemin is right, Jun, we're here for you" Jeno added._

_Renjun chocked on a sob, trying to hide his crying face on Jeno's shoulder, he always got emotional when Jaemin and Jeno reassured him. With heavy breathing and in between hiccups, he managed to say: "I love both of you so much"_

_"And we love you, baby"_

* * *

"Did you see them the last day they came to school?"

"I did, during lunch. They looked normal, laughing together even. From what I saw, nothing out of the ordinary." she stayed quiet, but the detectives didn't try to break the silence because Yerim looked like she had something else to say "There is something that... I noticed. I'm not sure if it's relevant... however, once school finished on fridays, there was always someone waiting for the three of them in a black van, they would always get in. This started happening not too long ago, maybe less than a year ago?"

"Why on fridays? Did you ever see the person that waited for them?" interested, Doyoung wrote the details on his notepad. 

"I guess because they didn't have other activities afterwards on fridays? I'm not sure. And it wasn't always the same person waiting for them. At first I thought it was their private driver, but the whole situation looked too sketchy"

After that, Yerim didn't have much to add so they let her continue with her day.

"We're gonna have to go through the school's security cameras again" Doyoung said, looking at his partner. 

"I'll call Jaehyun and tell him to do that" Taeyong aswered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the plot thickens... finally.  
> stream sappy by red velvet, my girls deserve it :3


	8. Chapter 8

The second student to come in was Lee Donghyuck, he shared business studies with Renjun and the teachers had seen him talk with the trio plenty of times.

"How close were you with Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin?" Taeyong started the questioning.

"Not that close, although I do know them since forever. Jaemin's parents were my parents' childhood friends, Jaemin and I actually used to play together before the Na family partnered with the Lee's in their businesses. Jaemin and I stopped hanging out together when we were seven, and since then it has always been Jaemin and Jeno. Until third grade, when Renjun transferred from China and the duo became an inseparable trio."

"So, did you noticed anything in the way they acted, or with who they hanged out with, that seemed suspicious and that could possibly answer what happened to them?"

Donghyuck stopped to think upon Doyoung's question, trying to remember something that could help the detectives.

"At the top of my head, the only thing I can think of is the fight that got Jeno and Jaemin suspended"

_**Flashback** _

_Thanks to Yerim's loud mouth, the whole school found out what Minhyuk and his group of friends had done to Renjun. Some pitied the poor boy, but the majority just laughed at him._

_When the tiny boy entered the school with Jaemin and Jeno protecting him on both his sides, everyone had their eyes glued on them and talked amongst each other about the shower room incident._

_The whole day, Renjun wouldn't speak nor would he look up from the ground, always going around the school with Jeno and Jaemin._

_When lunch time came, Donghyuck was waiting in the hallway for one of his friends so they could go to the cafeteria together. However, when he saw the 'iconic trio' -as everyone had nicknamed them- standing in front of Renjun's locker, and Minhyuk and only one of his goons coming from the opposite direction, walking straight towards them, he knew it was going to end badly._

_"But look who it is... Little Renjun who needs someone else to protect him. Enjoyed your shower yesterday?" the bully's mocking made Renjun's cheeks red with embarrassment. Donghyuck could see Jeno and Jaemin breathing heavily from all the anger building up inside them._

_"Leave him alone" Jaemin's unusual low voice threatened the other guy, who only laughed at him._

_"Why should I? He's the perfect target, he's fun to bother. It's fun watching him being distressed, not doing anything but cry until his two boy-toys arrive and save him" Minhyuk, on an impulse, grasped the photo of the three of them from the locker door and ripped it to pieces. It was the last straw._

_Like a reflex, Renjun grabbed Jeno by his waist to stop him from attacking his bully even before the younger made a move. It was like he was able to read his mind and know what he was thinking of doing. But he wasn't able to stop Jaemin, who sent a punch to Minhyuk's face. Jeno detached himself from Renjun and went to protect Jaemin when the goon tried to attack the pink-haired teen._

_A crowd surrounded the fight, not one of all the people there called any authority to put some order on the hallway. Donghyuck, horrified, watched how Jaemin took the bully down with a punch in the nose and how afterwards Jeno got on top of him to keep hitting him. Donghyuck had enough, and went to stop the other teen by holding his arms._

_"Don't ever come close to our Renjun again, or else it'll be much worse for you than this" Jeno hissed, holding his wounded hand, letting Donghyuck push him away from the bully._

_If Minhyuk heard that, then it was a miracle, because the guy was laying on the floor, swollen bloodied face and eyes barely open._

_"What is happening!?" Kun came running, and when his eyes landed on the passed out teenager, he dialed an ambulance while checking if Minhyuk was alive "Jeno, Jaemin, Renjun, Donghyuk and Jihoon, to the principal's office, NOW!"_

_Donghyuk only wished he wasn't in trouble. He hadn't done anything wrong, he only tried to stop the fight, a little too late but still. The intention is what counts._

_The five of them were waiting outside the office, Jaemin and Jeno looking at their wounds and making sure they were okay, while Renjun looked mad and ignored the other two. Jihoon, Minhyuk's follower, gave off this vibe that made it seem like he didn't really care about the situation._

_After what felt like a little over an hour, Kun and the principal came and made the five of them go inside._

_"I want an explanation. Let's start with Renjun" principal Lee said, pointing with her finger at the teen that managed to look both scared and mad at the same time._

_"I- I'm not sure. Minghyuk came up to us and he just- he started to make fun of me" Renjun said, unconfident, making his voice sound even smaller than usual._

_"And then Jeno and Jaemin started hitting him?" the principal looked at all the teens in the room, looking for answers "You do know you're in big trouble, right? You just sent a fellow student to the hospital, you literally knocked him out"_

_Jaemin clenched his jaw, Jeno looked at the floor while he cracked his bloody knuckles. Donghyuck wanted to be wrong when he realized that those two didn't care, not even a little bit, about the punishment or that they had sent Minhyuk to the hospital. And all for Renjun._

_"Donghyuk, what happened?"_

_He was frozen on his spot when the principal directed her question at him. Was he supposed to tell the truth or lie a little bit to help Jaemin and Jeno?_

_"Minhyuk came up to the three of them with Jihoon, he started provoking them and-" there was no way for him to lie, there was nothing that could excuse Jeno and Jaemin beating up Minhyuk "And then they started fighting"_

_"Who started the physical fight?"_

_The silence that fell upon the office was nerve-wracking, making Renjun and Donghyuk more nervous than they already were._

_"It was me" both Jaemin and Jeno said at the same time, the only thing on their minds was the thought of wanting to protect Renjun and each other._

_"I see..." principal Lee folded her arms over her chest "Well... I think we all know what the punishment is. Expulsion. You have physically harmed a student requiring professional medical help inside the school grounds"_

_"All of us?!" Donghyuck panicked, he could not be expelled, he had done nothing of what the principal was saying._

_"No, just Jaemin, Jeno and Jihoon" the three boys that were named looked way too calm "Your parents are being contacted to come right now"_

_Donghyuck noticed how the two teens on his left side still didn't look like they cared._

_"B-but, this is the first time they've done something like this. Shouldn't they be suspended as a warning instead of being expelled?" Renjun asked, his brain working at the speed of light to get Jeno and Jaemin out of the deep hole they were in, even though he was mad at them just minutes ago._

_"This is my school, Huang, I decide what happens, and I'm not going to let a student take charge of my decisions"_

_Something sparked inside Jaemin's brain when the principal spoke like that to Renjun, a need to protect the oldest._

_"Don't worry, Junnie, she's not going to expell us" Jaemin snickered, looking at the woman straight in the eyes, mischievousness clear in them. The playfulness and the need to cause trouble not going unnoticed._

_Donghyuck had never seen that side of the teenager before. Jaemin had this creepy smile that chilled his bones, and the dark gaze was definitely something new._

_"And what makes you so confident about that?" the woman laughed, amused at the teen._

_"Oh, certainly not the fact that our parents are the biggest contributors of the school. This place would be nothing without our parents' money, but if you really wanna risk losing so much cash, then be our guest" Jeno answered, his smile seemed innocent, but the manipulative tone gave away his true intentions. Donghyuck noticed that the principal had changed her expression from an amused one to a serious one, realizing that they were right._

_"Do you think our parents would still want to contribute after they are told we are being threatened with expulsion, Jeno?" Jaemin asked, staring at the other boy with entertainment and a fake clueless expression._

_"Mmh... good question, Nana. I don't think my father would be happy about that. Why would he want to give money to a school who wants to expell his son?"_

_Their smiles made the room feel heavy and Donghyuck couldn't stop feeling nervous, the delight in their eyes not making it easy to shake off that dark feeling they radiated. He was surprised, he would've never thought that Jaemin and Jeno were that manipulative to use their tricks on the principal._

_"Do you two think I'm stupid? Do you really think I'm going to fall for your trap? Then both of you are extremely wrong" principal Lee declared, anger evident in her strong tone of voice._

_"This school won't survive without enough money" Jaemin's smile disappeared, eyes warning the principal to not challenge him "Go ahead, expel us. I don't think that being cut off will be the only thing you will suffer"_

_"Watch your words, young man, because you will be in a much bigger problem than just expulsion" the principal was becoming angrier with every word that came out of Jaemin's and Jeno's mouth._

_"You sound like you don't know what our families are capable of. Keep threatening us with expulsion and you'll see" Jeno laughed, humiliating the principal by making her feel foolish and laughable._

_"That's not how it works" she replied, frowning._

_"It does if you have enough money, which we have and way more" everyone looked at Renjun surprised because he had answered, except Jeno and Jaemin who sported their biggest smiles. Renjun had gained confidence from seeing the other two stand up for themselves "You're ruining their image by expelling them, their parents won't be happy because the public will find out and the whole family image would be tainted too. If the Na family and Lee family desire to, they can twist the truth a little and you will be to blame. They can get you to lose not only your job, but your title too. Believe me, it wouldn't be the first time they would do something like that. The law doesn't matter nor does it always apply to rich people. But, I will assume you know all of this already"_

_Jeno and Jaemin looked proud, but Donghyuck couldn't believe that innocent Renjun was actually as manipulative as the other two._

_After a minute of silence, the principal said: "I will talk to your parents, and we'll see"_

_The three teenagers knew they had won._

"After that, Jaemin and Jeno were only suspended which caused a huge uproar in the school. Hate comments left and right about how because they were the richest kids of the school they had special privileges"

"But how does that relate to their disappearance?" Doyoung asked after listening to the boy's story.

"Not that part anyways, but the Minhyuk part. He's part of a gang. This is actually another big rumor going around, that Minhyuk's gang took 'revenge' on them for putting him in the hospital"

"One last question... Did you interact with them the day they disappeared?"

"No, I don't think I saw them at all that day, sorry"

They thanked Donghyuck and let him leave. Doyoung wrote a note that said that they had to talk to Minhyuk as soon as possible. Taeyong looked at Kun, who seemed deep in thought standing on the corner of the office.

"What is it, Mr. Qian?"

**_Flashback_ **

_After everyone had left, Kun asked Jeno to stay inside the office so they could speak._

_"You should've been more careful, Jeno" Kun voiced out, disappointment clear on his face and voice "You're our best student. Perfect grades, taking AP classes, doing extracurricular activities. An honour student! And now it's all tainted by that suspension, Jeno. This will forever look bad in front of the eyes of universities. You really should've been more careful"_

_"Is that it?" Jeno asked, emotionless eyes boring into Kun's "Because, just so you know, I don't regret it"_

_"Why did you fight Minhyuk?" was his question, trying to understand the whole situation._

_"We already told the principal, he was bullying Renjun. I did it for Renjun" Jeno got up from his seat, ready to leave because his father was waiting for him outside "He was bullying him daily, something had to be done. The school wouldn't have done shit if we told the authorities, I know that. The three of us only have each other, and we protect each other. So no, professor Kun, I couldn't give two shits about my record, because I would beat the crap out of Minhyuk over and over again to defend Renjun"_

_Before the teen could leave, Kun spoke up._

_"All that manipulative talk towards the principal could have been avoided, you know? There was going to be an expulsion hearing to decide if Jaemin and you would really be expelled. I highly doubt that you two were going to face expulsion" Kun added, but Jeno only looked disinterested while holding the doorknob, making the teacher realize something "But you already knew that"_

_"Of course we knew. The three of us were just proving a point and avoiding the possible hearing" Jeno paused "And... one more thing. This suspension means nothing. The first thing colleges are going to see is my family's money and power, I'm not worried"_

_"Why do you hide so much behind your family's money? You can't always count on that, you know?" his teacher tried to knock some sense into Jeno, feeling like didn't know his student at all from the way he was acting._

_"I'm not, actually. I don't care at all about my wealth. But I must admit, it is quite fun to play the power card"_

_And with that, the boy left the room._

"It's nothing" Kun finally answered "Just remembering how close those kids were, I have never seen such a close bond before"

"Neither have we" the detectives admitted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we see a new side of norenmin   
> I don't know how to write fight scenes i'm sorry hehe


	9. Chapter 9

After they were done interviewing a few more students and had finished with the school investigation, Taeyong told Doyoung he would treat him for lunch.

They arrived at a fast-food restaurant, ordered and Taeyong paid. It apparently was that time of the day when Doyoung got really annoying and all his partner wanted was for him to shut up. Doyoung was extremely smart and perceptive, but he was a nightmare to work with when he started irritating those around him.

"I bought you lunch, so can you please shut up now?" Taeyong asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to enjoy his food in peace.

"Oh, I get it. You just paid for my food so I would stay quiet. Dick move, Detective Lee, I thought you actually cared about me and wanted to go out with me" Taeyong looked at Doyoung incredulous, was he being serious?

"I literally asked you out before you started getting annoying, how does what you just said make any sense?!"

"If you can't embrace my peculiar and unique attitude, then I'm afraid this won't work" the oldest snorted at Doyoung's comment.

"Unbelievable," he said before his phone dinged. He looked down to see a text from Jaehyun saying he found something.

Both detectives got up, not caring anymore that they weren't able to eat that much. On their ride to the station, Doyoung refused to talk or even look at Taeyong. 

Once they arrived, they headed straight towards Jaehyun's workplace. The young male was still frustratingly trying to fight the virus in the SD card.

"Hello there, my favorite detectives" Jaehyun greeted, however, his smile dropped when he noticed the tense air around them "I'm guessing you two fought"

"Oh, of course not. I just came to my senses. I'm never going out with Taeyong again" Doyoung said proudly, making Taeyong groan. Jaehyun just got up from his seat, grabbed a marker and walked towards his calendar, drawing an 'x' on that day.

"This is the... sixth time you said that this month," the brunette told them after counting the x's he had drawn before "Funny how you always end up accepting his offers when he asks you out anyways."

"You've been counting?" the oldest of the three questioned, but the Jaehyun ignored him. Instead, he showed them Renjun's unblocked laptop.

"Haven't been able to go through it yet, but give it a look. See what you find"

Both detectives sat down on Jaehyun's desk while the other kept trying to get rid of the virus. As expected, the wallpaper was a photo of the three teens on a pool, probably on vacation. The number of photos that computer had was completely surprising, making it very clear it belonged to Renjun, who loved photography.

Pictures of pretty sunsets, rainy days, flowers, birds, puppies, and plenty of other stuff. There were obviously photos of the boys, Jaemin cooking, Jeno reading or playing with cats, etc.

There was a file titled 'practice' with photos and videos of Jeno and Jaemin during basketball practice, proving they were actually extremely good at the sport. There was also a file named 'dance', where there were videos of the three of them dancing to some songs, but there was one video that caught their attention.

_The camera pointed towards a door, showing an empty dance practice room. A few seconds later, Jaemin appeared covering Renjun's eyes with his hands, whispering for him to be careful._

_"Ta-da!"_

_The smaller boy looked around confused, not understanding what they were doing there in that place. That was until Jeno, the one holding the camera, took out from behind him a pair of ballet shoes. Renjun's eyes immediately started watering, slowly reaching towards the shoes with trembling hands._

_"H-How were you able to-to get these back?" his voice was no louder than a whisper, stammering now and then because of how emotional he was._

_"We may have broken into Yongseok's room" Jaemin answered._

_"You two are literally insane, what would you have done if he had caught you?!" Renjun looked frantic at the two boys standing in front of him._

_"Everything for you, Junnie. Besides, we're not dumb enough as to not make sure he wasn't in the house before breaking in." the youngest of the three said, rolling his eye "Now, dance for us, Injun" The Chinese’s cheeks colored themselves red, holding with care his worn out ballet shoes, looking at them with endearment. But a slightly pained expression took over his facial features._

_"What is it, Jun?" Jeno questioned softly._

_"I-I didn't warm up, a-and besides, I haven't danced i-in a while. I'm out of practice" Renjun's voice became quieter with each word he let out, unsure of himself._

_"Just... just dance a little bit. You know how much Jaemin and I love to watch you, and... we miss it. It doesn't matter if you haven't danced in a while, muscle memory exists"_

_"That's not the reason why you want me to dance," the oldest said, seeing right through the other two teens._

_Jeno and Jaemin looked at each other, not knowing how to explain their real intention. Taking a deep breath, Jaemin delicately put his hand on top of Renjun's smaller ones, caressing them and looking at the boy with so much love._

_"We know how much dancing means to you, and that when you were obligated to stop, it broke you inside. But we don't want you to stop, Injun, when you're with us you can be yourself, you can be free. What those bullies say about you, what your mother's disgusting boyfriend says and does to you, it doesn't matter. You're Huang Renjun, who loves ballet and contemporary dance, who actually cries with romcoms and makes fun of the bad effects in horror movies just to not show how scared you really are. You're an amazing painter, managing to show your feelings through your art, that's what I call a truly passionate artist. You're extremely smart, intuitive, sassy and snarky, but also emotional, empathetic, gentle and so, so loving. What I'm trying to say, is that those hurtful words don't define you, Injunnie. We want to prove that, Jeno and I just want to make you happy, and ballet is one of those things that makes you happy so we want to grant you that"_

_By that point, Renjun was a crying mess because of Jaemin's touching words. He wanted to reply, although his constant sobbing and hiccuping weren't allowing him. Jeno started rubbing his back to try and calm him a little bit, and once he was, he answered._

_"Thank you... so much. You two are my greatest source of happiness. I don't know what I would do without you"_

_Renjun hugged both boys, determined to show that he wasn't affected by the hateful comments about his passions. He put on his shoes and suddenly felt calm, something he hadn't been able to feel for a while. He looked at his two boys cheering him on from where they were sitting in a far corner and his smile grew._

_At that moment, he was at peace. He was at home._

* * *

 The detectives were silent when the video ended, feeling like they had just watched something extremely private. Even Jaehyun had stopped doing his real work to just listen.

"These boys really had a strong, deep bond." Taeyong said, closing the computer so Jaehyun could examine it more thoroughly later. He almost felt bad for the younger since he had so much work. “We should really search their backgrounds more, especially their relationships with their families. We could be talking about abuse here, and since it's a delicate subject, we should make a deeper investigation about it”

Everyone in the room agreed. The comment Jaemin had made in that video about Mrs. Song's boyfriend made it a little clear that something was going on behind the scenes. 

"Any progress?" Doyoung asked, knowing full well from the flashing computer screens that the answer was no.

"I can only hope. I just can't figure out who put this virus in the SD card and for what purpose? What is in here that needs to be hidden so much?" Jaehyun sighed heavily running a hand through his brown hair, frustrated.

Doyoung suddenly remembered something, leaving the room so fast it left the other two males confused. He came back ten minutes later with a file in his hands.

"I knew it," he said, smiling triumphantly "There is a possibility that the one who put that virus was Jeno"

He showed them the papers he was holding, it was Jeno's record of extracurriculars and courses he had taken.

"The last couple of years he has been taking different computer and programming related courses, I remember because I read his record the other day"

"With all these and some more research on the internet, he could've probably done it," Jaehyun said "this kid must've been a genius"

"Now the question is... why did he do it?"

Before they could start speculating, Johnny came through the door to tell the two detectives that he already had the security camera tapes. The three males said goodbye to Jaehyun, afterward walking to Johnny's workroom. 

“So, I pulled the tapes from weeks before, and yes. There was a van waiting for them every Friday. It would arrive at exactly 2:55PM, waited five minutes for the boys to get out of school, and at 3:05 it was ready to leave. The camera quality is too poor to identify the driver, but I am running the license plate as we speak. I'll inform you of what I find”

“That's a really good job, Johnny” Taeyong praised the other man “Mind showing us the tapes from the day they went missing? What I don't get is how they could disappear without leaving a trace”

The camera showed the three boys leaving school that Tuesday like they normally would, taking the same route as always they always did to return to their houses. But along the way, they went missing, no evidence, like they just vanished into thin air. 

“The police has already checked the security cameras from the streets they usually walk to go home. There is one street that doesn't have cameras, and that's where they went missing. Nothing was left behind, no evidence, no witnesses, no cars,  _nada_. The only thing there are houses, and cops already searched. They found nothing”

“We should go double check, Taeyong. Maybe there's something they missed”

The two detectives were about to leave when Johnny spoke to them “There's a meeting tomorrow concerning the case. Chief Taeil's orders"

Taeyong was about to leave, before the taller man added "And Taeyong...” Johnny waited until Doyoung was out of ear range to say his next words “apologize to Doyoung”

“I'll think about it” Taeyong answered, not even bothering to ask Johnny how he knew him and Doyoung had a fight. He always assumed he had something like a sixth or seventh sense.

They were on their way to keep investigating. Taeyong had the bright idea to retrace the teenagers' steps, so they started with the school. They parked the car, and then they were ready to start their investigation, paying extra attention to their surroundings. But they ended without any luck at all, since they didn't find anything. 

The detectives stopped on the street where the three boys apparently went missing. Like Johnny had said, there was nothing but houses next to houses. There was no way for the teenagers to go anywhere without being caught by the cameras on the next blocks.

“If they were kidnapped, there's no evidence of it. Even if they ran away, there's no place for them to go to. How do three teenage boys go missing without being seen?” Doyoung said, frustrated, looking around “Also, there were no cars around the time they went missing”

“Wait a minute” Taeyong stopped the younger, realizing something “What if they didn't go missing around 3 or 4PM?”

“I'm not following” the younger detective frowned, crossing his arms.

“Think about it. Let's theorize. Let's say they were kidnapped. What if they were held captive in one of these houses for a couple of hours, and then they took them somewhere else? Around 3PM there weren't any cars, but rush hour starts at around 5PM. The 'kidnapper' could have easily hidden his car with all the traffic around that time”

“So what you're saying is…?”

“That they went missing at 3PM is true, just that they didn't leave this place maybe until after 5PM. That also means that either the kidnapper or an accomplice lives in one of these houses. Or, if they did ran away, someone that was helping them run away lives here.”

“That's… that's actually really smart, Taeyong. We should tell this to Taeil so we can investigate this block to test your hypothesis”

Doyoung took it upon himself to call the chief and explain Taeyong's theory. After he ended the call with Taeil, the two made their way back to the car. 

“Doyoung, wait” the youngest looked at the light-brown haired male with expectant eyes “I wanted to... to apologize to you, for what happened today. I'm really sorry for calling you annoying. Even if you are annoying, it's endearing. And… and I lo- I like you just the way you are, annoying and all. I do like your 'peculiar and unique attitude', Doyoungie”

Doyoung suddenly hugged the other man tightly while giggling softly, hiding his face in Taeyong's neck, secretly inhaling his scent. Taeyong's smile grew wider, pulling the younger impossibly close to his body. 

“I'm sorry too. For being annoying” the black haired detective said when they let go of each other “To make it up for you, how about I treat you to dinner tonight?”

“Sounds perfect to me”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're going somewhere with the plot ;)  
> originally, I was going to make dotae have an established relationship from the beginning, but I actually like how their relationship is progressing now:3


	10. Chapter 10

Next morning, the detectives were on their way to Minhyuk's house. But Doyoung made Taeyong stop on his favorite coffee shop and buy him his usual venti sized coffee and that expensive muffin he had once ("Have you seen the price?!" "Just buy it for me, for God's sake!" "I seriously think I'm wasting all my paycheck to buy you these muffins. I don't even get anything in return" "How about a hug?" "Just a hug? These muffins seem made of gold for what they cost, I'm going to need more than a hug" "If you're a good boy I'll give you a kiss..." "Really?!" "On the cheek. Now pay"). It was an eventful morning, to say the least.

Since their destination was close from the café, they decided to walk there, passing by a park that was almost empty because of the early hour. But before they could keep going, someone yelled at them.

"Detectives!"

When they turned around, a blond boy they've seen before came riding his red bike, besides him was another boy they had never met before riding a skateboard.

"Chenle" Doyoung remembered his name, interested in what the boy had to say "What a nice surprise"

"This is my best friend, Park Jisung, he's also Renjun's neighbor" both detectives noticed that Chenle seemed a lot more bubbly with his friend around than the other day "Anything on my cousin and Jeno and Jaemin?"

"Mmm... I'm afraid we're not allowed to talk about that. I'm sorry" the eldest said, watching Chenle's face fall.

The silence that had fallen over them was interrupted by the blond boy's cellphone. When he saw the caller ID he let out an irritated sigh. "It's my aunt, ever since Renjun's gone missing she wants to know where I am 24/7. If you'll excuse me"

Doyoung and Taeyong were left alone with the scrawny and nervous Jisung. The boy looked uncomfortable with being stuck in such situation, unable to look at the detectives in the eyes.

"Jisung, emm... Chenle mentioned you're Renjun's neighbor. Have you ever noticed anything?" Doyoung asked, and when he saw the tiny boy hesitate he added "It's alright if you don't want to answer. Just say so and we will leave you alone"

"It's not that..." the boy answered, surprising the two adults with his deep voice. "I... I don't know where to start..."

**_Flashback_ **

_ Renjun's house was surrounded by walls and fences for safety measures, tall enough for people walking outside to be unable to see anything. But Jisung's room was on the second floor, and he had almost a clear view of the huge front yard. He was waiting for Chenle to arrive when he saw Renjun open the front gates, holding his backpack and his camera with his left hand, house keys with his right one. _

_ Jisung saw Yongseok coming out of the mansion before Renjun, but once he did, he stopped dead on his tracks. His face turned pale when he saw what was on the adult's hands, a box in one and pictures on the other. _

_"I knew it" he threw he photos with disgust, letting them scatter on the perfectly mowed grass "You're nothing but a disturbing faggot"_

_ Renjun's eyes welled up with tears, looking at nothing but at the pictures. Jeno had taken them during summer when the three of them had stayed at one of Jaemin's country houses near the beach. They were Polaroids of Jaemin and him kissing. _

_ "You're repulsive" that was the last thing Renjun heard before he was hit with a blow on the stomach. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground trying to catch his breath after getting the air knocked out of his body. _

_ Insult after insult, offensive, derogatory terms about his sexuality were thrown at him while getting kicked each time a word left his abuser's mouth. The pain was too much, physically and mentally, his tears started to flow without a warning or permission. It only made it worse. _

_"You're sickening. Is crying all you ever do?!"_

_ Jisung witnessed everything from his room, unknown fear paralyzing him. His phone was right next to him, he had to call the police! But his unmoving body wasn't cooperating with his orders.  _

_ Still being unable to move, he saw Yongseok toss the box full of other similar pictures, spit on Renjun, and get out of the mansion. A black van was waiting for him at the entrance, and he disappeared in the vehicle into the distance. _

_ Renjun was still in the ground, crying and clutching his pictures, eyes barely open. Five minutes later of Renjun laying on the ground and Jisung feeling incompetent because he didn't do anything about what he had seen, Jeno and Jaemin came running to try help the smaller of the three to get up from where he was laying. _

_ "The only way for him to find these if he was searching through your stuff!" Jaemin exclaimed, so angry that his face was contorted into a frown "Why can't he just mind his own fucking business?!" _

_ "I should have hidden them better" came Renjun's tiny voice, laced with pain. Breathing was starting to hurt and his eyes started itching from incoming tears. Jeno made sure to get rid of his tears with his sweater, softly caressing his red cheek. _

_"They were literally hidden inside the roof of your closet! What the hell was that asshole doing to find them?! What does he have against you?!"_

_ Jeno noticed that Renjun was getting more agitated with every word Jaemin yelled, so he grabbed both their hands to calm them down. He pulled them in a hug, unwanted tears also making their way on his eyes. He hated seeing Renjun suffer like that. _

_ "We will get through this, together, the three of us" he gave the other two a reassuring smile, also giving them his famous eye-smile that made their hearts melt "But first, let's get Renjun checked so we can make sure he is alright. After that, we will see what we can do about this situation" _

* * *

 Doyoung had to call Jisung's name a couple of times because the boy seemed like he had spaced out for a few seconds. The teenager didn't know how to tell the detectives, he had never been good with words.

"Just..."

"Jisung! We have to go! My aunt has breakfast ready!" Chenle called his friend, who looked like he was struggling to go before talking to the detectives. So he decided to make it quick.

"I suggest you look further into Kim Yongseok, Mrs. Song's boyfriend. I think he has something to do with the disappearances"

Before they could ask what he meant, the two boys were leaving. Taeyong and Doyoung looked at each other, feeling conflicted about the new information. It didn't seem farfetched, but it had no proof backing it up. But that was their job, and they would do anything to find those three boys.

Minhyuk's house was nothing out of the ordinary, it looked normal compared to the huge mansions they had visited previously. They rang the bell, and the door was opened by a man who didn't look pleased with the surprise visit.

"And you two are?"

"We are detectives Lee Taeyong and Kim Doyoung, we would like to speak to Kim Minhyuk. Does he live here?"

"What has that stupid little shit done now?" the man grumbled, rolling his eyes "I swear, if he got in trouble again, I'll kill him"

"No, you got it wrong sir, we just want to ask him some questions about the disappearance of Huang Renjun, Lee Jeno and Na Jaemin"

"Do you think he's got something to do with that?"

"Emm..." Taeyong and Doyoung looked at each other, searching for something to say in each other's eyes. Doyoung ended up speaking up "We just want to ask him some things, sir. Are you his father?"

The man let out a sigh, he nodded and stepped aside to let them in. They walked to the living room where they sat on the couch.

"I know I'm his father, and it's my fault he ended up like this, but I still believe he's good" Minhyuk's father said solemnly, before he got up to call for his son at the bottom of the stairs.

After what felt like ten minutes, the teenager came, resembling his father with his angry face.

"What the fuck do you want, old man?"

"These detectives came to question you" the boy's face turned emotionless, observing them and finally sitting down in front of them.

"I imagine this is about the missing case of those rich kids. Knew this would happen sooner or later" Minhyuk crossed his arms over his chest, feeling his father taking a seat next to him, but he paid him no mind.

Doyoung took his notepad out, while Taeyong took out a pen and gave it to his partner.

"Do you know anything about the disappearance of your classmates Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin? Did you see or hear anything about it?"

"Nope. But that's not what you want to ask. What you really want to ask is if I had anything to do with it"

Doyoung suddenly smiled, amused by the kid that was trying to outsmart them, so he asked "Did you?"

"Not at all" Minhyuk smiled back.

"It was brought to our attention you're part of a gang. You really disliked them didn't you? I mean, you did bully them. They had everything they could ask for, they even managed to escape expulsion while your friend, Jihoon, however, did get expelled. That must've bothered you. Maybe you used those resources you've got to get back at them" Doyoung said, playing with the pen between his fingers.

Taeyong watched his partner work with a fond gaze, he loved when Doyoung acted serious but playful at the same time, using that intelligent brain of his to find ways to make people talk.

"You're wrong. Yes, I hate those bastards with a burning passion, but I've got nothing to do with this. The day they went missing I was in detention"

Taeyong squinted his eyes, that piece of information had already been given to them by the school, and it was useless trying to get something out of Minhyuk. Besides, they had no proof that Minhyuk and his gang were behind it all, it was just some baseless rumor.

"You should look into something, though" the teen mentioned slyly "I think they were involved with drugs. They thought they were slick and that nobody noticed, but there were track marks on the inside of their arms. Maybe that has to do with them being missing"

Doyoung wrote that down, trying to figure out if Minhyuk was telling the truth or not, but they would investigate it anyways. 

After a few more questions, the detectives were on their way to the station, left without any answers.

"It doesn't matter if he was in detention that day or not, he could've sent the rest of his gang to do the dirty work" Doyoung said, looking through the window of Taeyong's car.

"But we've got no proof" his partner added, hand tightly holding the steering wheel "I was taken aback about the drug thing"

"Me too. We should look deeper into it" the words left his mouth absent-mindedly, remembering their encounter with Chenle and his friend "and see what dirt we can find on Kim Yongseok"

"Definitely"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the boring and crappy chapter. I've been really busy with uni, but I noticed I haden't uploaded in a while and I didn't want to leave anyone hanging, so I hope all of you enjoy it!  
> I posted this chapter and then I deleted it to correct some mistakes I made, btw


	11. Chapter 11

They got to the station around noon after Minhyuk's interrogation, just in time for the meeting Chief Taeil had organized. Both Doyoung and Taeyong were starving, their job making it a little hard to always eat their meals.

Looking around at the room where the meeting was being held, they saw Johnny, Jaehyun and Sicheng sitting around a table holding mugs filled to the brim with coffee. Doyoung almost let out a happy cry when he saw a mug in front of an empty chair for him. Sometimes, he actually loved his coworkers enough to say it out loud.

"You three are angels" he admitted, taking a sip from the steaming liquid. It tasted like heaven.

In front of Taeyong's seat there was also a mug, but he wasn't going to be as expressive about his gratitude as Doyoung.

The five of them made small talk while they waited for Taeil. The coffee was barely enough to deceive the stomach into believing it was full, after half an hour growling noises could be heard, making it clear how hungry all of them were.

Taeil came into the meeting room in the form of an angel in the eyes of his subordinates when they saw he had brought ramen for everyone. Endless praises and outcries of gratitude were thrown at him that only made him shy. He cleared his throat, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing, and officially started the meeting.

"All of you are here so we can lay out everything we know about the missing case from the very beginning. Taeyong, how about you start?"

The man that was just named got up from his seat, walked to the whiteboard and grabbed a marker to start. He drew a timeline that began the day Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin went missing.

"June 13th, the day they went missing. They went to school when they got out they went missing sometime after 3 PM in the Second Street area. They have been missing for four days now"

"We sent their description to every hospital, morgue and homeless shelter in the city and the surrounding cities. Nothing" Johnny added, watching Taeyong write that on the board.

Doyoung got up from his place, grabbed the marker from Taeyong's hand and made the oldest sit down so he could finish eating. He continued writing what was left of the sentence.

"Let's talk about what we found in their houses" Doyoung suggested.

"A lot of pictures" Jaehyun piped up, mouth still full "And the SD cards, one that I already decoded, and the other with the virus that is giving me the worst of headaches"

"The test with Jeno's blood" Sicheng continued, watching with disgust how Jaehyun ate with his mouth open. "Also, Renjun's laptop"

"The keys with the weird keychain" Taeyong mentioned "We still don't know where they're from"

"Oh! About that!" the Chinese man said "Just this morning I figured where they are from. They are keys that are used in lockers of a specific gym called 'On fit Gym'. I checked, and Jeno and Jaemin have memberships there"

After agreeing they would check it out once the meeting was over, they proceeded.

"Johnny, what happened to the license plate from the van from the security cameras?" to answer Taeyong's question, he got up and politely instructed Doyoung to sit down.

"My discovery was quite interesting. I found last night that the van was stolen a year ago and that the original owner, the person who made the report, is named Xiao De Jun. In his report he explained that three guys made him get out of his vehicle in the middle of the night, they beat him up and then they left with his van. When describing the attackers, he only remembered a huge tattoo one of them had on his neck. So, I asked a friend in the archives department to lend me the documents from that investigation, and the cops in charge of the case found out that the description of the tattoo matched one from a local gang, known as 'Fire Bomb'. Awful name, I know, is like the one who gave it the name was out of ideas. Anyways, they never found the culprit"

"So what does this mean?" Doyoung questioned, confused.

"When I found this piece of information, I asked my friend if there was any other information on that gang. She gave me documents of past investigations on them. They were being accused of trafficking all sort of weapons and drugs. She also said she'll give me more information to work with later when she finds more."

"This is messing with my head, sorry," Jaehyun said, looking at everything on the table "In the security cameras we see them getting in the van, to me it looked willingly. Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin were involved with this gang?"

"Involved or obligated" even if Sicheng had murmured that, everyone in the room heard him.

"True. But today, when we went to talk to Minhyuk, he mentioned track marks on the boys' arms. Being involved explains it somehow." Taeyong declared.

"You don't necessarily have to be in a gang to do drugs, Taeyong" his partner chided him. "Besides, who knows, maybe they were being forced to take drugs."

"Calm down, you two" Taeil raised his voice before 'Tom and Jerry' started endless bickering.

"Since we were talking about possible abuse, I pulled out their medical records" Sicheng interrupted "And... this was also surprising. I don't want to assume anything, but these boys had a lot of injuries, and the reasons sound more like excuses, some of them are even ridiculous. For example, last year, Jeno broke a rib and he said it was caused due to a bad landing during his basketball practice. I don't know about you guys, but that doesn't sound very believable. Before we make any decisions in how to proceed with this, I say we should talk to the doctor that took care of them, I have his info right here"

Once they agreed they would interrogate the doctor, everyone decided to finish eating while they looked through everything they had once again, before Jaehyun said he had found something else.

"Remember when you two talked to Jeno's parents and his step-mother said that he had escaped before? I found the house of that Lucas guy while I was taking a break from that damn virus. His real name is Wong Yukhei and he doesn't live that far away from here" he gave Taeyong the address in a piece of paper.

After some more talking about the case, they threw out the utensils they used to eat. Doyoung and Taeyong were getting ready to go out and start the investigation together before Johnny stopped them.

"How about Taeyong and I go to Wong Yukhei's house? I asked for Xiao De Jun to be brought to the police station later and we can question him afterward"

"And Doyoung and I can go interrogate the doctor and then go to the gym to see what's up" Sicheng proposed, looking at Taeil for confirmation. After they had the chief's approval, they went their separate ways.

Taeyong and Doyoung reluctantly parted ways, not being used to not working as a team. That Johnny and Sicheng were up to something didn't go unnoticed by the two detectives, and it probably involved their love lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Taeil, he's so cute:(
> 
> I apologize again for this boring chapter. I'll try making the next one more entertaining!
> 
> What would you like to read first? Taeyong and Johnny going to Yukhei's house and then interrogating Xiao Jun or Doyoung and Sicheng questioning the doctor and investigating the gym? Comment below and next chapter is going to be what you guys choose!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the comments, they make me really happy :D

Doyoung and Sicheng left the station after listening to Jaehyun complain that he was the only one who had to stay locked in his office while the rest left. The Chinese man just rolled his eyes, asked for Jaehyun's car keys and grabbed Doyoung's wrist before he could say goodbye to Taeyong.

Since Doyoung mostly moved around with Taeyong's car and neither owned a car, so both had to ride with Jaehyun's car. Sicheng assigned himself as the driver. They put the address on the GPS of the hospital the doctor that treated Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin worked at while Doyoung side-eyed his new partner.

"So... how much do we know about this doctor?" he asked, still suspicious of Sicheng's intentions.

"He's Thai. His name is... I forgot, sorry, it's too long. But he goes by Ten. He has been working in that hospital for five years, and he has treated those boys and their families for a while now" the younger answered, eyes never leaving the road.

A lot of things were going on inside his mind, thoughts about the case at hand, Sicheng, Taeyong. When Doyoung finally found the courage to ask Sicheng why he had made him change partners, they arrived at the hospital. He would definitely ask later, the only reason it unsettled him was that it probably involved his and Taeyong's 'relationship', not because Sicheng had bad intentions. Doyoung simply wasn't ready to talk about that.

Inside, the place smelled neutral, sterile and even if everything was white, it gave off a sad feeling that made all his other thoughts go away; his mind cleared, completely focusing on the case.

They walked up to the receptionist to ask for the doctor. Surprisingly, Sicheng made all the talking, considering he was kind of a quiet guy. "Hello, we're with the Seoul Police, we would like to speak to Doctor Ten?"

The woman behind the glass gave Sicheng a look, then her eyes traveled to Doyoung and his badge. She tiredly sighed and called someone through the phone, probably the doctor. "You're in luck, he's on his lunch break. Walk down that hall, you'll find him in the cafeteria."

The receptionist ignored their thanks and continued with her work; they just walked through the hall that would lead them to find Ten. The clean smell was replaced by a faint one of coffee, making Doyoung crave the drink.

"There he is" Sicheng pointed a handsome, young-looking man, eating pudding while going through his phone "Why don't you grab coffee? I'll speak to him first."

Doyoung accepted. He strolled towards the coffee machine, taking out his phone on the way. He had one missed call from Taeyong and one message.

_Taeyong❤︎: hey, how's everything going?_

Instead of answering the message, he called him back. He preferred listening to his voice, anyway.

"Doyoung?" Taeyong picked up almost immediately, making the younger giggle.

"Hey, Taeyongie. How are you?" he turned around to see how Sicheng was doing, noticing that he was already talking with Ten. Both looked serious, so he had to hurry up.

"I could be better. You?"

"Busy. Just wanted to hear your voice, we're not gonna see each other until tonight, or even tomorrow" he pouted, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while he finished making the coffees.

"Oh, you're so cute. I'll make sure to kick Johnny's ass for separating us" both laughed. Doyoung put a lid over the three coffee cups he had just prepared.

"Make it painful, then." he said while looking fondly at nothing, hearing him say 'will do' between cute laughs and knowing Taeyong was smiling. He was out of his love trance when he remembered he had to go interrogate the doctor "Gotta go, Tae. Take care."

"You too"

He hung up, then he put his phone inside his jean's pocket; soon after walked to the table that Sicheng and Ten were in with the three coffees.

"Doctor, this is Detective Kim Doyoung. He was just telling me about his connection with our missing boys" Sicheng summarized as Doyoung sat down, taking his coffee and putting his desired amount of sugar. The doctor took the drink with a broad smile that showed his perfect teeth.

Doyoung examined Ten thoroughly, he was extremely handsome. His perfectly combed black hair was pushed back and kept in place with gel, although a few strands fell over his forehead. He had prominent cheekbones and a pointy nose. Ten's lips were thin and formed a sly smirk, dark eyes looking at him intently.

"Pleasure, Detective" his voice sounded soft and flirty. "I was commenting to Mr. Sicheng that yes, I indeed was Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin's doctor, I am also the doctor of the rest of the family. They trust me a lot thanks to my capabilities. It's such a pity what happened to those boys."

"We're trying to find out what happened. We have reasons to believe that they may have been abused at home. We saw their medical records, they suffered suspicious wounds, I don't think they always got hurt during basketball practice, and I want to believe you didn't think so either."

Doyoung watched as Ten's face slowly changed, from happy to a solemn look. He sighed like he was letting down a wall that was previously hiding what he truly felt. Ten wasn't smiling anymore, and the bags under his eyes made him look a lot more tired than before.

"I- I had my suspicions. But every time I tried talking to them about it, they avoided the topic like a plague. They would keep up with their excuses, and would never tell me the truth. They even begged me to not tell anyone, not even their parents, that they were injured, which is a normal procedure to tell the parents. I didn't, it was the least I could for them. I really didn't know what else to do. Telling the cops obviously crossed my mind, but I was scared of their families' power."

**_Flashback_ **

_Ten had received a call from the receptionist telling him that the three teens were waiting for him in the emergency room. He softly told a nurse to bring them in without grabbing too much attention. When they were inside, he saw that Jeno and Renjun were helping Jaemin walk by putting each arm over their shoulders._

_"What happened?" he asked, putting on new gloves after disinfecting his hands._

_Jaemin pulled up his shirt to show a huge bruise that went from his side to his stomach, it was swollen, with a bright red and blue color. Ten was unable to hide his surprise. He gently started touching the bruise, hearing how Jaemin hissed and held Jeno's hand tightly._

_"Jaemin, what...?"_

_"I fought some bullies and they kicked me to the ground. I also threw up afterward" the teen explained, still in pain._

_"I'm going to have to run several tests on you, you could have an internal bleeding or a broken bone. I also have to notify your parents" literally after those words came out of his mouth the three boys shouted 'NO!', startling him._

_"Just, don't call them" Jaemin begged._

_Ten looked at them for a few seconds, this wasn't the first time something like this happened. Jaemin looked in pain and scared, Renjun seemed like he was going to start crying soon, a_ _nd Jeno had a worried expression, still holding Jaemin's hand._

_"Jaemin, did they do this to you?" the boy refused to look up "Did your parents do this to you? Was it your mom? Your dad?"_

_"No. Some bullies did this to me" he barely whispered, sounding so tiny. That made him look younger in Ten's eyes, like a scared little boy. Or maybe that was the real Jaemin, the one that he always hid behind smiles and flirty remarks._

_"You can trust me, Jaemin. All of you can trust me. I'm here to help you. We can tell the police..."_

_"No. That won't help" Jeno interfered, rubbing Renjun's back when he noticed tears rolling down his cheeks. The Chinese boy hid his face in Jeno's neck, trying to quiet down his whimpering._

_"Just... please, just don't tell my parents. I know you're risking your job, but please!" the injured boy implored, unshed tears making his eyes shiny and red. His knuckles were turning white from how tight he was holding Jeno's hand, breathing was starting to hurt and Ten could tell._

_"Let's get those tests done, ok?"_

_And once again, Ten kept quiet._

* * *

 "The wisest thing would have been for you to report these situations" Doyoung uttered, kind of in shock. "But it's not too late. You can come with us and make a statement at the police station. It would help this case a lot."

"No way" Ten's immediate answer startled the detective "I'm sorry, I really am. And I'm not refusing because I don't want to help Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin. It's just... you have to understand there are a lot of things I would be putting at risk if I file a report against their parents or make a simple statement."

Doyoung simply stared at the doctor, thousands of thoughts going through his mind. Sicheng was looking at him with concern etched on his face. A phone suddenly chimed, breaking the awkward silence between the three.

"Again, I'm really sorry. But I have to get back to work" the Thai doctor was about to get up before he was interrupted.

"Before you leave," the detective started talking, realizing that he could not force the doctor into doing what was right. He did remember an important piece of information "we were told that, apparently, they were doing drugs and that they had track marks on their arms. Did you ever notice anything?"

Ten's eyes looked at Sicheng and then around the cafeteria, struggling to recall something "Not that I remember. We've done plenty of blood tests on them and we've never found anything, although drugs traces don't really linger for more than a few days. I've been their doctor for years and the last time I saw them was last month, and not once did I see track marks. The only thing that comes to mind is that they regularly donated blood and that left some marks. Whoever told you this information was either lying or thought that the blood donation marks were track marks."

Because Ten was in a hurry, he left with a rushed goodbye, leaving his untouched drink on the table. Doyoung and Sicheng just looked at each other for a while before they got up to walk to Jaehyun's car and go to their next destination.

"Are we gonna have to call Child Protection Service? I really hate the people that work there, they're always so annoying. The last time I worked with them, the only thing they did was interfere with my work." Sicheng moaned, taking out the car keys.

"I don't think there is enough evidence to get the CPS involved. We've got no proof, no witnesses, nothing. It would be pointless to call them. But I think what we should do is bring the parents to the station for a further interrogation" Doyoung answered, halting his walking when they were standing by the car. "Sadly, without Ten's statement, we have nothing to accuse them of."

They both got inside and the Chinese analyst started the engine, headed towards the gym. Sicheng was about to say something when Doyoung's cellphone began to ring. He pulled it out to see the caller ID: 'Taeyong❤︎'. He picked up, placing the device against his ear.

"Hi, is everything okay?" he asked with concern, not expecting for Taeyong to call him out of nowhere.

"Yeah, I actually called to ask you that" Taeyong's voice managed to soothe Doyoung. The younger sighed deeply, suddenly feeling some of the stress leave his body. "Doyoung? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, of course. It's just a hard day, especially since you're not here" he tried to whisper the last part in hopes that Sicheng wouldn't hear it.

"Aren't you the cutest?" the man on the other side of the phone laughed "I miss you too, Doyoungie. Don't worry, after this, we'll be together again and I won't let Johnny or Sicheng separate us again."

"You sound so dramatic." Doyoung laughed, cheeks turning a soft shade of pink because of Taeyong's words.

"I'm the dramatic one? Please, have you met yourself?" Doyoung merely rolled his eyes with a smile on his lips "Jokes aside, Johnny and I already finished searching Wong Yukhei's house and now we're close to the station. Talk to you later, bunny" Doyoung didn't get to say goodbye because Taeyong hung up, making him sigh and look at Sicheng.

The Chinese man had a small grin on his face, pretending to fix the air conditioner during the time they had to wait in the red light. Doyoung intensified his gaze, squinting his eyes, expecting the other to make fun of him or something.

"I can't believe you two aren't together yet" Sicheng spoke after five minutes of silence.

"Ugh! Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Doyoung complained,

"Because! Taeyong and you have been in love with each other for how many years now? Three? And neither has made a move, you two haven't even kissed yet!" Doyoung was about to open his mouth but he was shushed "And don't you dare say you two aren't in love! You're grown adults, stop tip-toeing around each other!"

It took Doyoung two seconds to realize what was really going on "Oh my god, this is why you came with me! You want to meddle with my love life!"

"Well, duh! I can't handle all this disgusting love shit but it's driving me insane having to watch you two clueless love birds." Sicheng almost screamed because of frustration, honking multiple times uselessly at the line of unmoving cars in front of them. Rush hour.

"Right... disgusting love shit..." Doyoung whistled sarcastically "Don't think I forgot about your mystery man that you don't want to talk about."

"There's no such man in my life" the oldest of the two rolled his eyes. "I'm serious! He doesn't deserve me, I'm too good for him. Now, stop about me, you need to confess. And soon."

"No way!"

Endless bickering later, they managed to get out of traffic and get to the gym. The place had loud energetic music, great lighting and it smelled surprisingly nice. Expected from a gym where rich people went. They informed the secretary why they were there, and after receiving permission, she walked them to the lockers and indicated which ones belonged to Jeno and Jaemin's.

Doyoung took the keys, eyes contemplating the odd keychain. Exhaling a deep breath, he opened Jeno's locker to only find a change of clothes and earphones. Jaemin's was right next to it. On the inside, there was a water bottle and in a corner, barely visible, there was a folded paper.

"What did you find?" Sicheng stood behind him while he unfolded the paper. It was a series of ten numbers. "What is this?"

"I have no idea. We should go to the station and find out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doyoung and Sicheng won! Next ---> Taeyong and Johnny.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw!: mentions of suicide (it's just one mention, but please be careful!)

Inside Taeyong's car the silence wasn't as awkward to Taeyong as it was irritating him. Johnny wouldn't open his mouth to tell him why the change in partners, so they spent almost forty minutes without speaking.

Taeyong took his phone out to text Doyoung during a red light. He really missed his partner, joking with him, arguing, talking, or even simply having his presence next to him. However, before he could even start typing, he felt Johnny's breathing down his neck.

"Are you going to text Doyoung?" Johnny asked with a mischievous smile on his face, playfulness radiating from his eyes. "What are you going to tell him? That you miss him? That you want him here with you?" Taeyong blushed and rolled his eyes at Johnny's words.

He opted for calling the other. Since he didn't answer, he simply swallowed his pride and texted Doyoung -still with Johnny's eyes on his phone- asking him how he was doing and telling him what a nightmare Johnny was. He received a punch on the arm from the tall man for that. Just as he finished the light turned green.

Taeyong pulled up in front of the building where Wong Yukhei's apartment was located. Both men got out of the car, walked towards the entrance doors, took the stairs and climbed up to the seventh floor. The elevator wasn't working, Taeyong didn't know if he was glad or not that Doyoung wasn't with him because the other detective would've complained the whole way up about the amount of stairs.

His phone started ringing and he immediately knew it was Doyoung even before he saw the caller ID. Being apart from each other made Taeyong very sappy and cheesy, gaining funny looks from his current partner. He would never hear the end of it. Sadly, Doyoung was in a hurry, meaning that the call ended rather quickly.

After getting back on track, they stopped at the door of the apartment "U". Johnny knocked five times, then waited. Almost a minute passed, but nothing. He was about to knock again when someone behind them spoke.

"Are you looking for Lucas?" the one who had talked to them was an old lady, holding a walking cane in her right hand.

"Emm... yes, we are. Do you know if he's at home?" Taeyong asked, pointing with his thumb at the apartment door behind him.

"No, he isn't. He moved out a month ago if I'm correct" she smiled at them, now holding the top of the cane with both hands "I was his landlady. Such a funny, handsome man. He's a foreigner, so he sometimes struggled with the language, but he made it work. I do remember him living with his boyfriend. Oh, let me show you a picture."

The lady pulled out her phone and it took a while for her to find the photo she was looking for. Once she did, she showed it to Taeyong and Johnny. The latter took the device to take a closer look at the people in the image, they recognized Wong Yukhei on the left side, the old lady in the middle and another male on the right. His face looked really familiar to Taeyong, but he couldn't pinpoint who it was; Johnny's eyes, on the other hand, grew wide at identifying the man.

"Although, the last time I saw his boyfriend was around... three years ago? He never spoke about him ever again, maybe they broke up. Not to be gossipy, but two years ago this guy named Mark started coming by an awful lot of time. Guess he got a new boy."

After asking her a few more questions, like if she knew where Yukhei currently lived at —she didn't—, they went back to the car. Johnny was extremely quiet with a concentrated face, turned towards Taeyong on his seat and said:

"Tell me you recognized the guy in the photo" he begged.

"Not really. But he does look familiar, though" Taeyong muttered, "You know who he is?"

"That was Na Jungwoo. He was Jaemin's brother"

And every memory from the past came back. Taeyong remembered the news going insane with that story three years ago, how the fact that "the oldest child of the Na family, owner of one of the biggest electronics company in the country, had committed suicide" became huge worldwide news.

"Well, that's our connection between the missing kids and Wong Yukhei. We just have to find him to question him more thoroughly" both agreed.

Taeyong started the car, driving towards the station. Next in their to-do list was question Xiao De Jun, who probably had to already be in the station, or was going to be there soon.

He knew he probably should had waited a while longer before he called Doyoung, however, he was a weak man that needed to hear his voice. He took his cellphone to dial Doyoung once again. Johnny reprimanded him for using his phone while he was driving, telling how he was an officer of the law and that he was breaking it. Taeyong just ignored him.

This time the younger answered, sounding stressed, probably about the case, and preoccupying Taeyong. His pride and dignity were thrown out of the window to try to make Doyoung feel better, talking to him sweetly, proclaiming out loud how much he missed him.

The call had to end when he saw they were a couple of blocks away from the station. He could feel Johnny's devilish look on his profile, knowing full well why he was being looked at like that. It was teasing time, apparently.

"Bunny, huh. Cute nickname" Taeyong groaned, of all things Johnny could tease him with, it had to be that. "Hey, I ain't judging" the tall man let out a chuckle, enjoying the situation way too much.

"Just say you came with me today only to make fun of me" the youngest of the two by a couple of months moaned in despair.

"That and to encourage you to finally ask Doyoung out" Johnny smiled, observing Taeyong's reaction. The man's sharp features remained stoic, not wanting to give him the pleasure of getting a reaction out of him. "You two act like you can't stand each other but you literally can't live apart for more than a day, I would expect you two to be married by now."

"Aaand we arrived!" Taeyong interrupted the other in hopes of getting out of the car fast enough to hide his blush.

Inside the station, Taeyong asked a police officer if Xiao De Jun had arrived already, to what she answered that no, he hadn't yet.

He ran towards the coffee machine to avoid Johnny and his talk about his love life. He wished Johnny had a love interest so he could tease him back, but unfortunately for him, there was no one in the man's life. Which he found sad. Maybe he should help him find someone, that way Johnny would stop meddling with his love life and focus on his own.

Half an hour later, the same policewoman informed him that Xiao De Jun was in the interrogation room. He went to find his temporary partner; he found him talking to Kang Seulgi from the archives department. Taeyong barely got to say hello to her before she was leaving in a hurry.

"She found this on the investigation of the gang" Johnny explained to him, holding the document and putting it down on a random desk. "She said that the FBI sent someone to spy on the gang because they had no concrete proof of their illegal doings. To this day there isn't anything to prove they are trafficking all sorts of stuff, but this document contains photos the spy took of the gang."

The document was filled with pictures of black cars and vans, license plates, and of some alleged gang members. Their jaws dropped with a particular photo of a person.

"This is..." Johnny whispered.

"Yeah, Kim Yongseok. Mrs. Song's boyfriend." Taeyong finished for him.

They didn't have much time to lose, Johnny took the document and together they entered the interrogation room. The guy sitting in front of them looked quite young, his thick eyebrows making him look angry when he only had a serious face.

"Hello, I'm Detective Lee Taeyong and this is Special Agent John Seo. Has anyone told you why you're here?"

"They said it was about my stolen van... That was a year ago, though, I don't understand" Xiao Jun frowned and looked confused at the two men in front of him.

"Apparently, your stolen van is involved in one of our cases. You haven't seen it since it got stolen?" Johnny asked, fingers playing with the files he had received before from Seulgi.

"Not at all. The police never contacted me after that" he answered, moving around in his seat, clearly nervous "Am I in trouble?" Xiao Jun whispered.

"No, you're not. We're just trying to get as much information as we can..." something clicked inside Johnny's brain; he opened the documents and took out the pictures taken of the members of the gang "Would you be able to identify who your attackers were if I show you some photos?"

Xiao Jun was hesitant, telling them that it had been a year and that he might not really remember that well, but he was willing to give it a try.

Johnny laid down the pictures on the table, arranging them in a way that Xiao Jun was able to see all of them. The young man looked through them, examining the faces of all the gang members. He stopped at one, both Taeyong and Johnny knowing which one it was.

"Him. He was the one that beat me up in the middle of the road, I remember his eyebrow piercings and his hand tattoos. There were other two guys with him that night. A bald guy with a huge tattoo on his neck, he was the one that pulled me out of my van, and there was one skinny dude with a hoodie on, couldn't see his face. I don't see their photos here."

The picture that Xiao Jun handed them of the guy he recognized was, unsurprisingly, Kim Yongseok. Taeyong and Johnny gave each other a look. They got up, thanked Xiao De Jun for his help and told him that an officer was going to come in in a couple of minutes to escort him out of the station.

Leaving the interrogation room, their minds were going overdrive with thoughts. Johnny was the first one to break the silence.

"What does all of this mean?"

"I suggest we wait until Doyoung and Sicheng get back, so all of us as a team can talk about it" Taeyong answered, leaning his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.

Doyoung's sweet but loud voice shook him out of his trance. His neck almost snapped when he turned his head to the right, seeing the two men earlier named coming in with concentrated and thoughtful faces.

The four of them met in the middle, greeting each other.

From the interrogation room, Xiao De Jun came out with shoulders hunched forward and hands inside his pants' pockets.

Doyoung prided himself in how observant he was, and he did not miss the intense look Sicheng and Xiao Jun shared, making him feel like something fishy was going on. He shook his head, wanting to believe it was nothing and that he had seen wrong for once.

"We found something" both Doyoung and Taeyong said at the same time, making them smile a little.

"Let's go to the meeting room, I'll call Jaehyun and Taeil over" Sicheng said. Before anyone could say anything, the man was already leaving.

The three that remained there walked deeper inside the station, not having to wait more than ten minutes before the other three came into the meeting room. All of them sat down around the circular table, ready to pour out everything that happened that day.

"Well, Sicheng and I went to talk to the doctor." Doyoung said, crossing his arms over his chest, still resentful because of what had happened.

"He admitted that he suspected that the three boys were being abused by their families. The worst part is that he was completely against the idea of coming here to make a statement" the analyst continued, playing with his lip out of habit.

"Without that statement, we can't go anywhere with the accusation of abuse. I thought we could maybe bring the parents in for questioning, but after some thinking, they are going to deny every accusation. Don't get me started that they probably have great lawyers. And we can't forget that we have no proof" Doyoung said angrily. 

"We will find a way" Taeil said reassuringly.

"Also, when we went to the gym we found this in Jaemin's locker" Doyoung showed them the piece of paper with the series of numbers scribbled in it. "Jeno's locker was empty. We don't know what the numbers mean."

Jaehyun volunteered to find out, taking the paper between his fingers. Taeil pointed out that he still had to get rid of the virus in the SD card and asked him if he could do two things at the same time, to what he answered nonchalantly: "I'm a great multitasker, don't worry."

With his hand, Taeil pointed towards Johnny and Taeyong, indicating for them to tell the rest what they found.

"We went to Wong Yukhei's house. According to his landlady, he moved out a month ago. Taeyong and I found something interesting, though" they looked at each other before Johnny carried on "It appears that Wong Yukhei used to be romantically involved with Jaemin's brother, Jungwoo. And I think we all know what happened to Jungwoo three years ago."

Of course all of them knew.

"I'll research deeper on that" Sicheng announced.

"His landlady added something about a guy named Mark, she said he visited Yukhei a lot. We should search that too. But I think what's most important is to figure out where he is currently staying at, he has to know something." Taeyong spoke calmly, intertwining his own fingers over the table.

"Before interviewing Xiao De Jun, we found this." Johnny gave them the file with information on the gang "Kim Yongseok is part of that gang, and not only that, but he was actually one of the members who attacked Xiao De Jun and stole his van a year ago. We're definitely bringing that guy in."

After their meeting was over, Doyoung waited until almost everyone left the room. He grabbed Johnny by the arm, stopping him from leaving.

"Why did you and Sicheng decide to partner with Taeyong and me?" he softly whispered, eyes observing the outside of the room. Sicheng was talking to Taeil, Jaehyun had already left to do his job and Taeyong was looking at him weirdly, waiting for him.

"Sicheng asked me yesterday to partner with Taeyong because he had found out about the doctor and he said he wanted to go with you" the tall, handsome man answered.

Doyoung thanked him, got out of the place, immediately grabbing Taeyong by the collar of the shirt once he stepped out of the door. He dragged his partner outside, Taeyong noticed he wasn't himself and that something was bothering him.

"Doyoung, stop. What's wrong?" they halted in their steps. The oldest held the other by his arms, softly stroking the exposed skin that the t-shirt wasn't covering. 

"I-I don't know how to explain..." Doyoung let out a shaky breath "Remember when that Xiao De Jun guy was leaving? Did you notice the look him and Sicheng shared?"

"Emmm... no"

"It was... plain bizarre. And-and isn't it suspicious how Sicheng suddenly wanted to partner with me?" Taeyong could clearly see that the younger was getting agitated by the second, making him worry. "When we went to question doctor Ten he told me to go get coffees, he talked alone with Ten while I did that. What were they talking about?"

"Wait, Doyoung... Are you implying that Sicheng is involved in this case? In a bad way?" he asked, baffled.

"I-I don't know... I mean, everything looks quite suspicious..."

"Are you listening to yourself? Do you really think Dong Sicheng, our coworker, our friend since college, has something to do with the case?" Taeyong was perplexed, he didn't understand what had suddenly taken over his partner for him to say and imply those things.

Doyoung processed Taeyong words carefully. His cheeks quickly started tainting themselves red with embarrassment. He knew Taeyong was always able to make him see things clearly when his mind started to cloud itself with too many thoughts.

"You're right... I don't know what's wrong with me..." Doyoung combed his hair with fingers, sliding his hands down to hide his face.

"Nothing's wrong with you, Doyoungie. You're just way too stressed" he got closer to the younger detective, he held his wrists to softly yank his hands from his red face. He took in every detail from Doyoung's features while his fingertips delicately caressed his burning hot cheeks. "Let me take you home. Let's drink some tea together and relax, how does that sound?"

Taeyong was speaking to him calmly with his soothing deep voice, so close to him it made his tensed up muscles relax a little bit. Doyoung nodded, slowly pulling the older into a hug.

"Let's go" Taeyong whispered, kissing Doyoung on the temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! I know Jungwoo's surname is Kim, I just had to change it to Na for the sake of the plot lol  
> Apparently, Taeyong likes calling Dotae "YongYoung" so... we going [plane emoji] yongyoung!!  
> Do you think Doyoung is just paranoiac about Sicheng or does he have a point?  
> Also, wakey-wakey is a bop, I don't care what people say (and leave my man johnny alone) c:


	14. Chapter 14

Next morning the atmosphere felt tense. Jaehyun was still fighting the virus while also trying to find out what those numbers on the paper Doyoung and Sicheng found on Jaemin's gym locker; Sicheng was researching to find something that related Yukhei to Jungwoo, and Taeyong was trying to find Yukhei's current home.

"Bad news," Johnny said, entering the break room where Doyoung and Taeil were chatting. "The police went to go find Kim Yongseok at his house. He wasn't there. They're searching for him as we speak."

The young detective groaned, that certainly made things harder for them. The case was taking a toll on him, stressing him out, so he excused himself from the room to clear his head. The station was huge so he just started walking through the hallways until he stopped in front of Jaehyun's office.

"Hey, Doyoung!" he was greeted by the young programmer, who only looked at him for a fleeting moment before going back to his computers.

The detective noticed Jaehyun's weird, hyperactive attitude and the dark circles under his eyes. Doyoung also recalled that every time he left work, Jaehyun was in his office, as well as every time he arrived, Jaehyun was there too.

"When was the last time you went home?" was the first thing Doyoung said to the other after the realization set in.

"Ummm... probably the day before you gave me this SD card... I think" his attention wasn't in the conversation at all, fingers typing at the speed of light and eyes focused on the screens.

"You haven't gone home in three days!? Does Taeil know!?" scandalized he stood next to the younger looking at his work, he didn't understand the numbers or the words in green plastered on the screen.

"I don't think the chief knows" was all the answer he got.

"You should go get some rest, Jaehyun! When was the last time you slept?!"

"I sleep twenty minutes every five-six hours" the programmer informed "I won't go home. I CAN'T!" the sudden loudness of his voice startled Doyoung "I WON'T sleep until I've deciphered this, it's literally driving me insane."

The silence that reigned over the place only made Doyoung feel unsettled because Jaehyun wasn't paying attention to anything other than his work. He looked like a maniac, eyes going from one screen to another, fingers typing the keyboard like his life depended on it.

"Would you be a dear and bring me some coffee?" The only thing Doyoung was able to do was sigh, knowing that he wasn't going to change Jaehyun's mind about going home.

* * *

 Johnny was in his office going through every detail of the case, papers laying around on his desk, computer on his side to see the photos from Renjun's laptop. Even though they had a lead with Yongseok, he somehow still felt like they were about to hit a dead end.

A ruckus could be heard outside, a ruckus with the name of Doyoung and Taeyong. Johnny sighed. Would he ever be able to have peace?

"I didn't think that you would notice!" Taeyong said on his defense, not surprising anyone that passed them by that they were arguing. Once again.

"Oh, stealing food is okay as long as nobody notices" Doyoung sarcastically remarked as they walked through the doors of Johnny's office.

"I wouldn't call it stealing, I'd say it's sharing" the other countered, trying to coax his partner into dropping the fight.

"It was my lunch! I didn't want to share it with you!" the youngest complained, stopping on his tracks to point an accusing finger at Taeyong, completely offended by his partner's words. 

"See, you just said it was sharing!" Taeyong pointed out, throwing his hands in the air in a gesture that showed fake innocence. Doyoung wasn't able to contain his exasperated groan.

"Excuse me!" Johnny interrupted their argument. They paused and turned to look at their coworker, who looked a little annoyed at their incessant bickering. "What would you two be needing?"

Doyoung walked behind Johnny's table and Taeyong stood next to the tall man. Johnny sighed and left his work aside, knowing that he would have to pay his utmost attention to the two children he had as coworkers.

"We need a mediator, Johnny, or I'm gonna have to go to employee relationship management" Doyoung informed, smiling self-sufficiently; his face immediately changed into a glare directed at his partner.

"Which would be tattling" Taeyong backfired. The American man just looked back and forth between the bickering couple, rubbing his temples from the upcoming headache they were causing him.

"No, it isn't" outraged, Doyoung threw Taeyong a dirty look.

"It's basically the adult version of 'I'm telling mommy'" the oldest detective replied, a triumphant smile on his handsome face.

"It is not!" Doyoung frowned, hand slapping the table.

"It is so" the condescending answer that Taeyong gave him only made the younger angrier.

"It is not!" he shouted, crossing his arms over his chest. As a response, Taeyong stuck his tongue out in a childish manner "We need an un-official mediator" he explained after exhaling heavily, annoyed by his colleague.

"Did you try talking to Taeil?" Johnny really didn't want to be the one to act as the peace-maker, especially when it involved those two, so he decided he would suggest other people that could help them.

Upon facing the recommendation, Doyoung made a face coupled with a noise of uncertainty and looked over at Taeyong who had the same reaction.

"Yes, I do see your point" Johnny actually understood, Taeil was a little bit emotionally constipated and the Chief found it hard to give advise.

"We thought of going to Jaehyun," Doyoung said.

"But he's not in a right state of mind right now" Taeyong finished Doyoung's train of thought.

"And then we thought of you!" the younger optimistically exclaimed, smiling cutely.

"I see, I'm the last resort. At least you thought of me before Sicheng" Johnny shrugged, starting to find amusing the whole situation. Maybe he would help them, but also have his fun.

"Well... we just came from there..." Taeyong reluctantly told him, ducking his head in shame.

"He turned us down... and then proceed to say something in Mandarin. We're pretty sure it wasn't something nice" the youngest detective hesitantly added.

"Oh..." was Johnny's only response.

"C'mon Johnny, he's driving me insane!" Taeyong throwing a fit would have been cute to Doyoung in every other situation except that one. The accusatory finger pointing at him caused his mouth to drop accompanied by an offended expression on his face.

"Well... I am busy, but..." he looked around at all the work he had to finish "But I'm flattered that you would entrust your relationship to me and that you have faith in my judgment. It would be rather like... marriage counseling" the amused smile on Johnny's face went completely unnoticed.

"Oh, how about we don't use those big words?" Taeyong suggested with a grimace, side-eyeing Doyoung to see his reaction.

"It's only a partnership. A working relationship. Purely platonic!" Doyoung corrected Johnny while doing weird gestures with his hands. Taeyong's grimace deepened, trying to bury the mixed emotions Doyoung's words caused. Johnny wanted to laugh out loud, both were so obvious but so oblivious at the same time.

"So, you'll do it?" Taeyong asked, quickly changing the topic of what exactly their relationship was.

"Of course, I would relish this experience and maybe learn a thing or two about psychology. I have been very interested in that field for a long time..." Johnny assured them, sounding like he was going to get into a lengthy explanation so Doyoung impatiently cut him off.

"Ok... so... let's start!" the youngest eagerly clapped his hands, not wasting any time "I was in the break room before I left to clear my head and I went to Jaehyun's office. While there, he asked me for coffee, and since I'm a great friend I went to the break room to get him a cup. There's where I saw Taeyong eating _MY_ peanut butter and jelly sandwich" Doyoung told their temporary mediator calmly; during the said explanation, Taeyong paced around Johnny's workplace, making dramatic sounds of disagreement and when Doyoung reached the last part he threw his head back and snorted.

"Ok! See!? That's.. coo coo!" Taeyong animatedly made hand gestures to indicate that Doyoung was crazy "I'm hungry! We're partners! It's NOT a big deal! But mister uptight here who has his panties in a twist blows everything out of proportion and it becomes a major deal!" he finally exploded, Doyoung had a shocked expression and Johnny simply watched bewildered how quickly the argument was escalating.

"All you left were the crumbs!" Doyoung punctuated each word with emphasis to get his point across, leaning closer to Taeyong's face from the other side of the table so he could feel his angry gaze. Taeyong simply watched astonished, not understanding what was the big deal.

"Ugh! Who is right here?" Taeyong groaned, turning to face Johnny while pointing between himself and Doyoung. The tall man just looked dumbfounded and out of words.

"C'mon, Johnny! Tell him!" Doyoung encouraged him with a fake smile, ready for Johnny to say that Taeyong was in the wrong.

"Well... w-we need to look a little bit deeper into this... dilemma" Johnny hesitantly told them, both detectives frowned at the same time "There is clearly more than a rivalry between you two, it could possibly stem from an unconscious desire to please and fulfill your sexually charged bickering."

He was met with silence. Confused silence.

"What does this have to do with my PB&J sandwich?" Doyoung softly muttered with a confused face, he looked at Taeyong to see that he had the same expression. How was everything that Johnny had just said relevant to their sandwich ordeal?

"I'm confused," Taeyong said out loud, brows furrowed.

Johnny sighed for the eleventh time that day, getting more stressed than enjoyment from being a "mediator". He shook his head in disappointment, eyes landing on all the papers on the desk.

Johnny stood straight after something catched his attention. Taeyong and Doyoung noticed, witnessing how Johnny grabbed a paper with desperation, scanning it with astonishment.

"Guys... I think I've got something" the taller man whispered "Look."

He turned around the paper. It was all the information they had on doctor Ten. Nothing stood out to them until Johnny pointed with his finger at the man's address. The doctor's house was in the same block as the one Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin went missing.

The tall man told them he was going to call the hospital to check if Ten was working or if he was home; he would let the two detectives know after the call so they could go investigate. The pair verbally thanked him.

A thought took over Doyoung's mind. Taeyong saw him leave, it was only a given that he went after him to see what he was up to. His partner was going towards Sicheng's office, making his skin crawl.

"Doyoung, what are you going to do?" he asked the other, stopping him from moving by grabbing him by the elbow. The younger got out of the grip by violently moving his arm away, startling Taeyong a bit.

Taeyong nervously started biting his nails, Doyoung looked like he was going to do something reckless. Instead of standing in the middle of the hallway, he followed the other detective to see what he was intending to do with the analyst. If he could, he would stop his rash and imprudent actions.

Inside the office, the Chinese man was on his computer carefully observing the monitor. His head perked up at the sound of his door sliding; Doyoung was standing there with calculating eyes, Taeyong right behind him appearing nervous.

"Hi guys, I was just about to send someone to fetch you so I can share with you what I found," the Chinese man said while softly smiling. But Doyoung wasn't having it.

"Johnny found something too." Sicheng's doe eyes looked at the detectives expectantly. "You were the one who investigated doctor Ten, right?"

"That is correct" was the answer he received. He seemed confused after noticing Doyoung's weird demeanor.

"Well, Johnny found out that Ten's house is located in the same block as the one Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin were last seen. Weren't you the one who pulled out that information? How is it possible that you didn't notice?"

Sicheng looked surprised but also puzzled. He was at a loss of words, gaze landing on Doyoung's eyes, then traveled towards Taeyong. It felt like he was being reprimanded.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't notice" his deep but soft voice only made Doyoung believe that he was pretending, trying to act innocent. Taeyong could tell Doyoung was about to say something else, something mean probably. Before that could happen, he interrupted.

"So, what did you say you found, Sicheng?" He wanted to curse when he heard his voice tremble a little.

"Well..." Sicheng tried to put aside whatever had just happened with Doyoung "I wanted to find physical evidence that linked Jungwoo to Wong Yukhei, right? Therefore I researched Jungwoo. It seems that seven years ago, in 2010 when Jungwoo was eighteen, he got disowned by the Na family and kicked out of the house for some strange reason that was never publicly addressed. I tried to connect what we already know with this, and I came up with the hypothesis that maybe Jungwoo and Yukhei started living together after that incident. To find out if I'm correct, I asked for the security camera tapes from the street and the building where the apartment is located to see if he really used to live there from the years 2010 until the year that Jungwoo committed suicide, 2014. What I found is suspicious. The tapes show nothing because they have been erased."

"What? All of them?! Four years of tapes completely erased? How is that possible?" Taeyong asked, getting closer to Sicheng's desk. Neither of them saw Doyoung watching the Chinese man with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes.

"I asked the company that manages the surveillance if this could be a technical mistake, and although they said that they're not sure, I don't feel like it is. In my opinion, someone erased them on purpose to hide something. That's all I found. I did ask for the tapes from 2014 and onwards until now to see if I can find anything else. They should probably get here in a couple hours."

Johnny appeared on the door to tell the two detectives that Ten's shift had ended an hour ago and that he should be in his house. Taeyong thanked both Sicheng and Johnny, grabbing Doyoung by the wrist strongly against the youngest protests.

"What is going on with you?" Taeyong was beyond irritated, not being able to wrap his head around Doyoung's thinking. "I thought you were done suspecting _our friend_ Sicheng" he emphasized, eyes searching Doyoung's face for answers.

"I just don't believe him! He has never made a mistake in his entire career, and now, out of nowhere, he makes one!" Doyoung raised his voice once they were in the parking lot, shaking Taeyong's hand away from him.

"He's human, Doyoung! People make mistakes! Maybe when he saw the address he didn't recognize the area or something! You're seriously taking this too far, even for you."

Doyoung hardened his glare, tightened his fists and simply walked towards Taeyong's car, completely avoiding any conversation. Taeyong let out a huff, frustration running through his veins; his hands came up to mess up his hair in a desperate way to let off some steam before he accidentally took it out on Doyoung again. Why did his partner have to be so complicated?

The car ride to Ten's house was so palpably tense that Taeyong didn't even attempt to talk to his partner, preferring to let him cool off for a bit. The situation was nerve-racking to Taeyong, he had never fought with Doyoung like that, they were always bickering, but never to this magnitude. He just couldn't understand Doyoung's reasoning behind accusing Sicheng.

They pulled up the car right in front of Ten's home. Doyoung got out first, not wanting to interact at all with Taeyong. He knocked on the door trying to stay as far away from the oldest detective as possible. Taeyong was annoyed at Doyoung's childishness.

Ten opened up not looking surprised that the two detectives were there, although he still seemed wary.

"Can I help you?" Ten asked softly.

"May we come in?"

The foreigner opened the door wide and moved to the side to let the detectives in.

The inside was tidy and clean, sun entering from the windows creating an enjoyable golden glow over the living room. Ten guided them towards his kitchen so they could start talking.

"As you may remember me, I'm Detective Kim Doyoung and this is Detective Lee Taeyong. We wanted to ask you something crucial to the investigation" Ten nodded, giving all of his attention to the two men "We know that Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin were last seen around this block before they went missing. Do you know anything about that?"

Ten bit his lip, in the detectives' eyes he looked conflicted.

"Withholding information from us can get you arrested" Taeyong countered. And that's all it took for Ten to crack open.

"Alright, yes. They were here the day they went missing."

**_Flashback_ **

_Ten was with his laptop reading online news, music blasting from his Spotify while he flipped through all the bills he had to pay when the sound of the bell interrupted his late afternoon._

_He got up at the incessant sound, whoever was behind the door was desperate and from the peephole he saw it was his patients, Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin; he immediately opened the door scared that something bad had happened to them._

_"Boys. Are you alright?" The three looked anxious, Jaemin was in the middle of the other two holding both their hands, sweetly rubbing his thumbs over their palms to try to calm them down. They didn't have to ask if they could come in, Ten let them come inside without a word._

_"Can I get you anything? Something to drink? Eat?" the doctor asked looking at the teenagers sitting down on his living room couch. Their hands were still intertwined as a way to find comfort, something wasn't right._

_"Can we just stay here for a few hours? Please?" Renjun faintly asked. Ten wasn't going to say no, obviously. He was just worried, what was going on with them? Was it about their parents? But he didn't dare ask anything, afraid to trigger them._

_Ten still gave them some water and food, although they ended up not eating. The silence surrounding them was awkward, the teens looking out through the window in the living room that had the view of the street every time a sound of a car passed by._

_"Someone is after us" Jeno suddenly spoke, making Ten jump a little from his seat across from them._

_"Do they want to hurt you? Do you know who they are?" he asked concerned. Renjun started biting his lip, tightening his hold on Jaemin._

_"We have a pretty good guess" was all the pink-haired teen answered._

_After an hour and a half later, the sound of a car stopping in front of his house made all three of them get up. Ten got up as well, the boys stood in front of him with sad faces._

_"That car is here to pick us up. Thank you for letting us stay and for everything, really. We will repay you once this ends" Jeno said with a melancholic smile._

_"If we don't end up dead first" Renjun uttered with pessimism._

_"Injun, don't say that" Jaemin chastised, frowning. "Please don't tell anyone about this, that we were here."_

_Before Ten could process and ask them more questions, the teenagers were leaving his house to get inside the car parked outside. The young man stood on his porch, looking at the retreating car with a lost and pensive gaze. He felt that something was wrong._

* * *

 "After that, I never saw them again" Ten finished the story, eyes not meeting the detectives.

"And you hid this information from the police for almost a week?!" the youngest detective asked perplexed. The doctor didn't have any sort of response, head hanging low from guilt. "You will have to come with us to the station. As of now, you were the last person to see them. We will question you more thoroughly there."

Taeyong was already calling for reinforcement to bring a vehicle to transport Ten to the police station. He turned around to see if Doyoung was alright. He looked contemplative, like he was lost in his own world of thoughts. He got closer to him slowly.

"What is it?" he asked tentatively, not wanting to startle his partner and cause him to get angrier with him.

"Just thinking" was his short reply "It's better if we talk when we're at the station."

Doyoung left Taeyong standing in the middle of the living room alone, the older sighed and massaged his forehead. As much as he enjoyed bickering with Doyoung, when the other was seriously pissed at him it didn't feel right. He thought of apologizing, but Taeyong didn't feel like he was in the wrong, Doyoung was just suspecting the wrong person.

Should he go against what he believed and make up with Doyoung? Or should he let Doyoung be mad at him so he could stand up for what he thought was correct? He didn't know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry not sorry for the angst


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw!: blood. please, be careful!

Upon arriving at the station, Ten was escorted to the interrogation room where he was left there until further notice. Johnny and Taeyong were in charge of the questioning and taking Ten's statement, but Taeyong wanted to talk to Doyoung first.  
  
Doyoung and Taeyong quietly walked side by side, the oldest trying to find a place where they could chat in private, the younger still wearing a stoic face. They were stopped on their tracks by their chief before they could get anywhere to have their conversation.  
  
"I've got news," Taeil said, grabbing the detectives' full attention. "The parents called, they are demanding answers. And they want them soon."  
  
"If we had any, we would've already informed them!" Taeyong exclaimed incredulously.  
  
"How convenient" Doyoung's sarcastic laugh made Taeyong and Taeil look at him "Yongseok disappears and they get jumpy."  
  
"What are you implying?" his superior asked, frowning. "Are you saying that the parents have something to do with the case?"  
  
"It's just a supposition. We do know that the boys were being abused. How farfetched is it to think the parents had something to do with the disappearance of their sons?"  
  
Taeil's phone suddenly rang, cutting off Doyoung.  
  
"Get me proof of what you're saying and don't do anything rash Doyoung, I'm begging" his boss warned before having to take off "Taeyong, keep an eye on him."  
  
Doyoung scowled indignantly, not believing that his own boss didn't trust him. Although, deep inside he knew he was correct.  
  
Taeyong looked at Doyoung ready to start the awaited talk they were supposed to have since that morning, yet his eyes were met with Johnny's, who was standing a few feet away from them making signs at Taeyong to follow him.  
  
"We'll talk after" Taeyong notified, pointing at the younger with his index finger in a threatening manner.  
  
Ten appeared to be nervous when both men entered the room. The doctor was cracking his knuckles and biting his bottom lip as a way to distract himself from the stressful situation.  
  
"Let's begin" Johnny started, getting comfortable in the chair "Tell us EXACTLY what happened Tuesday, June 13th. From the beginning, since the moment you woke up."  
  
"Alright..." Ten took a deep breath. "It was my day off so I woke up relatively late, around noon maybe? After that I cleaned the house a little bit, I cooked myself some lunch and around two I grabbed my laptop, read the news, listened to music, arranged my bills. When it hit three in the afternoon I heard someone ring the doorbell like crazy; through the peephole, I saw it was Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin."  
  
"Was it normal for them to go to your house?" Taeyong interrupted, the sudden question popping in his mind.  
  
"Not at all. It was the first time actually. I gave them my address for emergencies, so I got really worried when they showed up. They looked extremely nervous so I let them in without a second thought. I offered them something to drink or eat but they completely refused while they sat on my couch.  
  
"Renjun asked me if they could stay for a few hours, everything seemed so weird and sketchy. I wanted to press further with my questions, but I didn't because I didn't want to push them too far and cause them to react badly after being faced with my curiosity.  
  
"I still gave them food and water, they didn't touch anything. And after ten minutes of very awkward silence, Jeno said something really unsettling. That someone was after them. I did press further this time, yet, the only thing they answered was that they had a pretty good guess about who was chasing them.  
  
"Silence again for about... an hour and a half? Yeah, I think so. A car stopped in front of my house, and the three of them got up. They thanked me for letting them stay and that they would repay me once 'everything ended'. I don't know what they meant with that.  
  
"...Renjun then proceeded to say that they would repay me, only if they didn't end up dead first. Jaemin then asked me to not tell anyone they were there. They got out of my house, got into the car and left. It was around 4:30PM and 5:00PM."  
  
"Describe the car for me. Brand, color, license plate, anything you remember" Johnny requested.  
  
"I don't know the brand, sorry, I know nothing about cars. But it was black. And that's all. That was the last time I saw them."  
  
Taeyong and Johnny got out of the room, crossing their arms and looking at each other.  
  
"I don't know if we should believe him or not" the taller of the two voiced out. "In his story, he said they were almost two hours without speaking. Highly unlikely."  
  
Taeyong could only sigh.

* * *

On Doyoung's side, he went into Sicheng's office to investigate what he had been up to with the tapes he was supposed to be examining. The Chinese man wasn't inside, but a guy he knew his name was Hendery, Sicheng's assistant, was going through some tapes.  
  
"Mr. Dong is in the restroom right now. The team he set up that consists of twenty people are already on with the job of finishing analyzing the rest of the tapes." the young man told him, clearly a little afraid.  
  
"Alright. Did Sicheng go through any of the tapes?"  
  
"Ummm... yeah, the ones from April 2016. They are over his desk" he pointed at them with his thumb.  
  
Before he could play the tapes, Sicheng came in, surprised by seeing the detective in there. His eyes traveled to the tapes on his desk, realizing the reason Doyoung was there.  
  
"I already went through them. If you want, you can check yourself."  
  
Sicheng's tone took Doyoung off guard. He sounded cold and distant, eyes joyless and with a tiny spark of annoyance. Doyoung understood that Sicheng had already caught up to his real intentions. Although, if Sicheng was innocent, he would probably have nothing to hide.  
  
"I trust you did a good job, then" Doyoung got away from his desk, walking right past Sicheng without batting an eye, not even looking or saying goodbye to Sicheng's new assistant.  
  
Walking frustrated through the hallways made him feel worse. He wanted to go to Taeyong and rant for a good hour; that was not possible because he was being stubborn and stupid and he would never let himself speak and apologize to Taeyong.  
  
"Can we talk, please?" Taeyong begged. Doyoung jumped in his spot, turning around to see the older male who had appeared out of the blue.  
  
Doyoung looked against it, even if on the inside he was dying to talk to the other. He took a deep breath and walked up towards Taeyong to reluctantly make eye contact.  
  
"I don't know what's gotten into you, Doyoung. I want to understand what goes through your mind. What is causing you to recklessly accuse Sicheng of something you've got no proof of."  
  
"So you're on his side, then" he childishly retorted while crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"Doyoung what? This is not about picking sides, we're not in grade school! And even if it was, you know I'm always on your side! It's always been like that!" he made a pause to take a deep breath and calm himself down "I know, Doie... I know how close to home this case hits. You don't have to pretend."  
  
The younger paused, face draining itself from color into a sickly white, his body turning completely numb for a few seconds. Memories from his childhood that he tried to bury were now surfacing on his mind to torment him. If only Taeyong hadn't mentioned anything.  
  
"It's nothing like that" Doyoung cringed when he realized his voice did not sound convincing. Because it was true, that case was eating him away with how similar it was to his past. He just wanted to forget and move on.  
  
His breath suddenly hitched when Taeyong hugged him out of nowhere.  
  
A desire to hug back overtook his whole body, wanting to feel Taeyong close in a desperate need of consolation. His arms snaked around Taeyong's shoulders, hiding his face in his neck. He could feel his eyes prickling with tears, stress also leaving his body slowly every time Taeyong hugged him tighter.  
  
"You are the strongest person I know, Doie" he whispered words of encouragement in his ear, making the younger shiver. "We will find those boys."  
  
After a few minutes of hugging and not wanting to let go, Jaehyun appeared out of nowhere wearing a crazy look in his eyes while yelling: "GUYS! This is urgent! I figured it out!". Doyoung and Taeyong went running after him, who was calling the whole team to the meeting room.  
  
"I figured out what the series of numbers mean, the one that Doyoung and Sicheng found in Jaemin's locker!" Jaehyun almost screamed at everyone, out of breath. "They're coordinates! I translated the coordinates and it's the address of a house in one of the worst neighborhoods in town. The place is known for sheltering drug addicts, drug dealers, prostitutes, there are even rumors of a black market"  
  
"Why was that address in his locker?" Taeil wondered.  
  
"I don't know. But here is the address, you should go see what's here." Jaehyun answered, giving Taeyong and Doyoung the location.

* * *

When Doyoung and Taeyong arrived at the house, the area gave off a dangerous feeling, all eyes on the street were on them. Doyoung had the sensation that the people already knew they were federal agents.  
  
The house the coordinates took them to had a door with gang symbols, they recognized one as a symbol from the gang Yongseok was in. From the outside, it looked abandoned and the door was unlocked, once inside there was nothing. Maybe the gang symbols were a way to keep people out, Doyoung knew gangs marked places with their symbols to warn off others.  
  
"Why does it feel like a trap?" Doyoung whispered looking around the empty room.  
  
There was nothing, not even one piece of furniture. The floors and walls were dirty with questionable fluids and substances. The only thing inside was another door.  
  
Ready to defend themselves if anything came out to attack them, Taeyong opened that second door. What waited for them on the other side was the most horrifying thing they had laid eyes on.  
  
The room was tainted red with blood from top to bottom, gigantic pools of blood in the floor, splashes of the red liquid all over the walls. It looked like a literal bloodbath. Horrified, they saw that the bathroom in the far corner had a bathtub covered in blood, and the sides of the tub had bloody handprints. They didn't dare to go in as to not tamper with the evidence.  
  
"We need to call CSI" Taeyong murmured, feeling dizzy from the strong smell of blood and other odors he was unable to identify.  
  
Taeyong turned around towards Doyoung immediately when he noticed his partner was having a hard time to breathe, Doyoung had a frightened look on his face and there were tears in his eyes. He wiped them before they rolled down his cheeks.  
  
"What if it's their.... their...." he couldn't finish the sentence, looking at the bloody scene behind Taeyong.  
  
Taeyong didn't know what to answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hello. It has been almost a month, hehe. I've been really REALLY busy with uni :'( but I wrote this when I had a little break because studying was sressing me out too much. Hope all of you are still reading and still enjoying it! The plot is advancing ;) (the story takes place in 2017 if anyone wants to know)


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